Vanquishing the Shadows
by Megaera15
Summary: Taking place 16 years after the incidents in Dark World, the daughter of Alexis Rhodes takes up the challenge of finding her father. Read intro for more details. Chapter 17 is up and ready to read!
1. Intro Details

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yu-gi-oh! GX.

**A/N:** **Hey, peeps. I've decided to scrap the old plot line of ****Vanquishing the Shadows**** cuz I wasn't motivated to write it. Hopefully this story will turn out better. Anyone can use my previous idea for this story if you want. So with out further ado, winkytwinky15 presents the revamped version of…**

**Vanquishing the Shadows.**

Background info for this story (Spoiler Alert): if you haven't seen the end of season 3 or season 4, don't read this. These are the conditions that surround the GX Gang.

This story takes place after Season 3.

Jaden did not come back from Dark World.

This is 16 years after that incident, which means the GX gang is in their thirties (approx. 33).

This story will revolve around Alexis's daughter, Hannah Rhodes.

**Kay. I'll clear all these facts up once I get more into the story. Look forward to reading the new adaptation of my story. Thanks! **


	2. Tick, Tock

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yu-gi-oh! GX.

**Thoughts are in italics.**

1:29. That was the time the clock displayed on the kitchen wall. Not 1:00, much to Alexis's dismay, but 1:29. You're probably thinking, what difference can twenty-nine minutes make? The answer is a lot. This fact worried Alexis the most. She was sitting on the edge of a chair in her kitchen, watching the seconds trickle by. Every once in a while she'd glance out the window, hoping to see the white car pull up her driveway. Nothing. In an instant, the second hand hit the 12, signifying that it was now 1:30. Alexis sighed.

_Where are you? You told me one-o-clock sharp. It's one-thirty, Hannah. Where are you?_

The deadly silence was then pierced by a low humming noise. Alexis immediately recognized it as the engine of a car.

_Please be her. Please. _

Alexis let out a huge sigh of relief as the car she was waiting for pulled into view. She watched as a young girl stepped out of the driver's seat. The girl proceeded towards the front door which suddenly flew open. She cocked an eyebrow as her mother ran forward and embraced her.

"Um, mom? Is everything okay?" the girl asked.

"Hannah Rhodes, where were you? You're," she paused to look at her watch, "thirty-one minutes late."

"I'm sorry, I just lost track of time. I was gonna call but I, uh, forgot to charge my phone. Besides, it's not like I'm an hour late or anything."

"Okay, I may have freaked out a little."

"A little?"

"Okay, a lot. But at least you're home now. So, did you have a good time over at Liz's?" Alexis asked, calming down a bit.

"Not really. She spent the entire time talking with Becca about boys. They didn't want to duel either," she pouted.

"That's all Jazz and Mindy used to talk about too when I was your age." Alexis mused. "Now come inside and have a late lunch with me."

"That sounds great, Mom." Hannah smiled.

The two blondes headed inside. Alexis glanced at her daughter as she set the table.

_I can't believe she looks so much like me but has HIS personality. _

She snapped herself back into the real world when she realized Hannah was talking to her. By this time, food was already on the table and Hannah had just swallowed a bite of her sandwich before continuing.

"…who said that Ryan was cheating on Bella with Christine. I told them I didn't care and they asked if I was sick. Then they flipped out at me when I mentioned Duel Academy. 'You're going there again? Well, at least pick up a boyfriend out there. I mean, you can't seriously just play card games on an island all day.'" She mimed. "What's Becca's problem? She was fine when I went this year. And I don't see what's so wrong about dueling all day. It's fun."

"There's more to life than dueling you know," Alexis smiled.

"Yeah. But then they got on my case about my personality. Liz keeps saying that I look exactly like you but I act completely different."

"That's because you're too much like your fa-" she stopped. She almost said it. Alexis looked up at her daughter and saw that her whole rant was just a ploy to bring up this topic.

_Damn, she's smart. Guess she's got my brains after all._

"What about my father?"

"Nothing. I meant to say-"

"Mom, why do you avoid talking about Dad? Who is he?"

"We're not going to discuss this now," Alexis said coldly. She stood up to leave.

"I'm sorry, mom. I didn't want to upset you. I'm just…curious."

"No, I'm sorry Hannah. I've been putting off telling you about him for too long, mainly because I can't get over what happened. It hasn't been easy since he…disappeared."

Hannah looked at her mother with a puzzled expression on her face. She couldn't tell if anything more was going to be shared or not but prayed that her mother would give up a little more information. But before she could say anything, Alexis spoke.

"Know this, Hannah. I loved your father. I really did. He loved me too. It's just that…well, the way things turned out after Dark World, I…" her mother trailed off.

Hannah knew better than to interrupt, especially because her mother had just brought up another taboo subject: her experience in another dimension. She'd only heard stories from the staff at Duel Academy when she pressed them for answers, saying that it was a scary world where duel monsters were alive and duels were real.

"I never married your father, though I would've liked to. He got lost in that dimension and didn't come back like the rest of us did. He saved us. He saved me. And there was nothing I could do to get him back."

"Mom," Hannah said worriedly. Tears were sliding down her mother's cheeks. "Mom, forget I ever brought this up. Please, I didn't mean to make you sad."

She hugged her tight. "I love you, mom."

"I love you too, Hannah."

It was quiet for the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening. Hannah dropped the whole matter of her father, though she still wanted to know more.

_I wish there was someway I could talk to her Academy friends. They'd tell me all about my father. I'm sure of it. Then maybe I can do something to find him. Only problem is, I don't know anyone other than Mindy and Jasmine, but they won't say anything to me. Heck, I don't even know their last names! Some plan this turned out to be. Wait a minute! Mom's yearbook! I'm sure if I could just find it, I'd find the names of a ton of her friends. I doubt she's going to hand it over though, being in the state she's in._

Her thoughts were interrupted by her mother's voice. "Hannah, I'm going to go out for a bit with the girls. Do you mind staying home by yourself?"

She grinned. "Nope. Go enjoy yourself. I'll be fine."

She waited for the car to completely disappear down the driveway and then waited for a few minutes to make sure her mother didn't turn around to get something she forgot.

_That's the last thing I need to happen: her finding me snooping around in her school stuff._

She crept silently into Alexis's room and turned on the light. "Now if I were mom, where would I put that book?" she wondered aloud. Her eyes fell on the desk in the corner of the room. "Aha!"

Hannah began to rifle through each drawer carefully, making sure to put everything back in its place. Then, she found it resting on the bottom of the last drawer.

_Now it's time for some answers._

**Ta-da! ****First chapter done. Hope you like the new story! I'll try to update as frequently as I can. Stay tuned for chapter 2!**


	3. A Plan

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh! GX**

**XXX**

Hannah picked up the large book, fingering its silvery spine. The cover was emblazoned with a picture of the main entrance of Duel Academy. Underneath it was the year of which her mother graduated, also in the same silver material. Hannah flipped it over and saw all of the seniors' signatures were printed on the back. Then she flipped it back over and stared at the cover for a bit, contemplating whether or not she should open it.

_Mom would've showed this to me if she wanted to. There must be a reason she didn't want me to see it. Maybe I should put it back. Oh, but then I won't be able to find out about dad, whoever he is. I've gotta do this!_

She took a deep breath and opened the front cover. It mentioned something about the leaving seniors but Hannah passed it in an instant. She flicked through the pages, looking for the senior section but halted at a strange picture. It contained all of the staff at the Academy. Hannah recognized several of them as her own teachers, only much younger. Then she came across a face that made her laugh. She almost fell over.

"My god! Is that Dr. Crowler? Ha! It is! He looks like a friggin' clown! I'll have to scan this and send it to the guys at the Academy. That's rich. Wow, he sure has changed nowadays. Ah."

Then she remembered she was looking for something. "Oh yeah, gotta find the senior pics."

She mentally slapped herself for not staying on task. Hannah stopped and stared (good song... um, back to the story) at the individual pictures. She smiled at her mom's picture and read the titles she'd received.

"Alexis Rhodes: Queen of Obelisk Blue, Top Female Duelist, Most Popular, and Best Looking. Wow, mom sure was busy in school."

She turned to the next page and saw her mother sitting under a tree with several other people from different dorms. Only one boy was in a Slifer jacket whereas the rest were either in Ra or Obelisk uniforms. The caption said it was taken the previous year.

"Well, these must be her friends. Now I'll just have to match the faces with the names so I can go from there."

She took a pad of paper and a pen from another drawer in the desk and began to slowly jot down the names she matched with the figures in the scene. After a few minutes, she ran down the list.

**(A/N- I don't know Mindy or Jazz's last names so I'm going to make them up.)**

"Mindy Johnson, Jasmine Smith, Bastion Misawa, Syrus Truesdale, Aster Phoenix and Chazz Princeton, Tyranno Hassleberry, and Jaden Yuki. I think that's everyone in the picture. To Google!"

Hannah made sure to put the yearbook back where she found it before going to her room. She flicked the light switch, causing light to bathe her red room. She remembered the expression oh her mother's face when she told her she wanted her room to be red.

xxFLASHBACKxx

"_What color do you want, Hannah?" Alexis asked her six-year-old daughter._

"_I want red!"_

"_Red? Why not blue?"_

"_Cause red is for red hot, mommy!"_

_Recognition seemed to dawn across her face when she heard this. She smiled down at her daughter._

"_Your daddy used to say the same thing _**(1)**_ when I first met him," she said, reminiscing._

"_Oh. Well, Uncle Atty told me to say it. He gave me a dollar," she grinned._

"_Did he now? Oh Atticus, my dear, sweet brother, where are you?"_

xxEND FLASHBACKxx

"Yet another trait my father and I have in common," Hannah thought as she sat down at her computer.

She pulled up Google (which I do not own!) and began looking up the list of names. One by one, she came across numbers and addresses for each person on the list. Of course since most of her mother's friends were pro duelists or well known in general for their contributions to the world, they weren't that hard to find. Except for one person.

"Why can't I find anything on Jaden Yuki? It's like he doesn't exist! The yearbook said he was the best in the Academy back then, so what happened? He couldn't have just disappeared off the face of the earth. Well, at least I have the rest of mom's friends that I can contact. The question is, who should I go to first? Hmm,"

_It'll be harder to talk to Syrus, Chazz, and Aster because I can only call their duel agents _**(2)**_. And even then, they'll probably think I'm a crazy fan girl. Hassleberry is currently in the military _**(3) **_so that's an obvious no. Hmm, I could try Prof. Misawa. His laboratory isn't that far from here; maybe a fifteen minute drive. That might just be the place to start. I_-

"Hellooooooo? Anybody home? Sissy? Hannah?" a peppy voice from the other room called.

"Shit. He's here. Guess my plan will have to wait for tomorrow," Hannah muttered.

She walked out into the kitchen where a man stood. "Uncle Atty! What are you doing here?" she asked, giving him a hug.

"I live here when I'm not on tour, remember?"

"Oh yeah. It's just been so long since I've last seen you."

"Aw, you missed your favorite uncle!" Atticus beamed, ruffling Hannah's hair.

"But, you're my only uncle, Atty."

"Exactly!"

Hannah face palmed.

"So where's Sissy?"

"She went out with 'the girls' again tonight."

"And she left you alone all by your lonesome to be…alone. My poor little niecey!" Atticus raved, hugging said niece.

Hannah groaned. _I can understand why mom gets so fed up with him so fast._

"Can I get you anything?" Hannah asked when he let go.

"Yeah. Two hot babes, a hot tub, and nachos."

"How about something more realistic?" Hannah said, shaking her head.

"Why isn't that realistic?"

"I'm a sixteen-year-old girl. What do you expect from me?"

"Good point."

The two chatted idly for a while before Hannah decided to head to bed. _If I'm going to put this plan into action, I've got to get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, I'll head down to Mr. Misawa's lab and see if he can tell me anything. He might even have an idea of how to look for dad too, him being a scientist and all. He can probably find a way back into Dark World! _

She drifted off, imagining what her father looked like and what she'd do, correction, what she and her mom would do when they found him.

_We can be the family mom always wanted…the three of us…together. _

**XXX**

**Now to cover the notations I made:**

**1)** In like the 2nd episode, Jaden said the "red is for red hot…" line to Syrus who repeated it over and over again.

**2)** Yeah all of those guys are now Pro duelists and therefore, one must contact their agents to talk to them. Bastion is a Scientist type guy. He's like his role model, Prof. Eisenstein (however you spell it).

**3) **Hassleberry joined the military so he could get more money for college. He's also portrayed as a soldier wannabe (in my own personal opinion) in the TV show so I thought it would be fitting for him to go to war…er something. Sorry if you guys don't feel the same way.

**Also, please review. I'd like at least 2 per chapter but I'm not gonna not post chapters if I don't get them…if that made any sense. **


	4. Depatment of Scientific Research

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh! GX

**XXX**

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! shrilled Hannah's alarm clock at 9:00 the next morning. Not that it was doing any good. She was still fast asleep when Alexis came in to turn it off a few seconds later.

_Why I even bought this for her, I'll never know. Worst ten bucks spent ever! _Alexis thought grumpily. She massaged her temples in hopes of alleviating some of the tension build up in her head. Yes, my friends, Alexis Rhodes had a (slight) hangover. She looked back at the events that happened the previous night and sighed.

xxFLASHBACKxx

"So, Lexi, where to first?" Mindy asked from the driver's seat.

"I don't know. Where ever is fine with me," she replied half-heartedly.

"Lex, what's wrong? If you didn't want to come-"

"It's not that Jazz, it's just, well…Hannah asked about _**him **_again."

The car grew silent almost as soon as the words escaped her lips. Mindy and Jasmine glanced at each other, not knowing how to help their distressed friend. Jazz finally spoke.

"Lex, do you still…have feelings for him? You should really let go. He's been gone for years."

"I won't let go. I know he's going to come back. Mindy, let's go to Rudy's. I could use a drink," Alexis said, changing the subject.

"Okay, but Lex, how's he going to come back? When? How do you know he's going to?"

"I just…he wouldn't leave me…Jaden's not like that. He'll come back for me…and Hannah."

Her eyes were hazy for a minute and Jazz grew worried. She stared at Alexis, wondering where the strong Queen of Obelisk Blue went. _The old Alexis would never let a boy do this to her. I knew that Jaden Yuki was no good. Look what he's done to her! I don't care if the others said he saved them, he absolutely destroyed Lex._

"We're here," Mindy said quietly.

"Good," Alexis said, getting out of the car with her gal pals.

"Hey, Lex? Don't spend the whole night thinking about Jaden, okay? Let's just have some fun."

"Alright, Jazz," she smiled.

The girls walked inside and sat at the bar. The three friends just talked about what was going on for them. Alexis told them about her teaching job at the Academy and how Dr. Crowler still hadn't retired. That comment earned a few laughs. Mindy talked about how romantic she thought Harrington was for planning a second honeymoon (though they'd only been married for six years). Then, Jazz decided to drop a bomb on them.

"Guess what?" she asked excitedly.

"What?" both Alexis and Mindy questioned.

"Chazz and I are going to have another baby!" she squealed.

Alexis and Mindy's jaws dropped. "Seriously? Oh Jazz, congrats! You know what this means, don't you?" Mindy said.

"What?"

"Another baby shower! Yay! I'll start planning it right away!"

Jasmine sweatdropped.

"I'm really happy for you, Jazz," Alexis added.

"Thanks, Lex," she beamed. The two girls hugged each other as Mindy began talking to herself about the party.

After they let go, Alexis ordered another drink. It was her third for the evening. Who could blame her though for feeling a little depressed. Here they were talking about how great her friends' families were and how happy they were while she was feeling sad and lonely. Sure, she had Hannah whom she loved to pieces, but there wasn't anyone else in her life. She wanted someone else to hold her when she felt like she did at the moment, someone to tell her everything would get better and wipe away her tears, someone who'd kiss her goodnight and be there next to her as she slept. She wanted a husband. She wanted Jaden.

"Lexi! You okay? You look really spaced out right now," Mindy cut in.

"Never better, Min," Alexis said flatly, finishing her third glass in a flash.

Mindy and Jazz shot each other looks that clearly said, 'time to go'.

"Hey, it's getting late, Lex. We better go home."

"Yeah. I've got to make sure Harrington Jr.'s in bed."

"I s'pose you're right. Erg, I shouldn't have had that last glass. I just know I'm going to regret this in the morning. Sorry for getting all weird on you guys. It's just so tough being a single mom and all."

"We know, Lex. But you've got us to lean on, okay? Don't think you have to do everything by yourself. If you ever have a problem, just talk to us. That's what friends are for," Jazz said.

"Thanks girls," Alexis smiled.

It was a loud ride home. Mindy couldn't quit raving about the baby shower plans she'd formulated while Alexis and Jasmine tried to talk her out of the glitzy-glamour ideas. Alexis waved a quick bye to her friends as the dropped her off in the driveway a few minutes later.

xxEND FLASHBACKxx

"Never again," Alexis growled under her breath as she stepped into the shower to prepare herself for the day.

When she got out, she put on her neatly pressed clothes she'd laid out the night before and then proceeded to the kitchen. She heard noises coming from it, much to her surprise.

"Hannah?" she questioned, walking through the doorway.

"Nope! Good morning, Sissy!" Atticus beamed.

He was making an omelet on the stove. Alexis walked over to the coffee pot, poured herself a cup, and took a sip before saying, "Morning Atty. Did you get in last night?"

"Yeah, you didn't hear me snoring? I got here before you did!"

"Oh. Hey wait! What're you doing here? You and Christine are married. Shouldn't you be with her?"

"Well, if you don't want me around I can just lea-"

"It's not that, Atty. I was just wondering why you're not with her."

"We had a fight and she kinda kicked me out. Don't worry though; I know exactly how to patch this up. I'm the master of love after all!"

Alexis sweat dropped before continuing. "Well, I hope it works out for you."

"Thanks, Sissy!"

The two sat down and caught up for awhile. Alexis could feel the ache in her head dull soon and she began to actually enjoy her brother's company. That is, until Hannah came pounding down the stairs.

"Awwwww shit! My alarm clock didn't go off! Now I'm gonna be late!"

"Hannah, what did I say about using that word? And it did go off, you just slept through it." Alexis called from the kitchen.

"Sorry mom!" she yelled, running into the kitchen.

She was trying to pull on a sweatshirt and shove her shoes on her feet at the same time. Atticus laughed.

"Where ya going in such a rush, squirt?"

"Umm…"

_Gotta think of a good excuse quick before they get suspicious! Let's see, soccer practice? No. Piano lessons? No, I quit that years ago. Grr! I'll just say I'm going over to Liz's again or something._

"Hannah?"

"Er, what were we talking about again?"

"WHERE are you going in such a hurry?" her mother asked suspiciously.

"Oh, Liz wanted me to go to the mall with her. She's set on finding me a boyfriend. She also wants me to help her pick out a dress for her sister's wedding."

"So why do you have to leave so early?" Atticus asked.

Hannah and Alexis looked at him as if he'd just asked what 2 plus 2 was.

"It's a big deal. Besides, Liz takes forever on deciding on clothes, _especially_ dresses."

"Well, make sure she doesn't keep you too long, Hannah. Remember we've got dinner plans tonight."

"Dinner plans?" Atticus asked (again).

"Don't worry, Atty. You can come too," Alexis assured.

"Thanks, Lexi! Have fun, Hannah!" Atticus chimed as his niece walked out the door.

"Bye, see you both later!" she yelled before slamming the door closed and taking off.

Hannah got into her little white Volkswagen golf GTI (do not own) and pulled out a slip of paper out of her pocket. She read over the scribbled information on it:

_Dr. Misawa_

_Office 213 A, Floor 2_

_Department of Scientific Research of California (DSRC)_

_48 Grove Street, 4__th__ Avenue South_

After confirming the location, she started up the car and headed out. She decided to call Liz, just in case her mom didn't believe her.

"Hey Liz!"

"Hannah! How are you, girl? Did you find out anything else last night or did she give you the silent treatment again?"

"That's what I called to talk to you about. She was kinda vague so I looked through her yearbook last night when she went out. I'm going to go meet up with one of her friends from school right now actually."

"Good. You're making progress. But why call me?"

"Well, I kind of told my mom I was going to the mall with you today to go shopping for dresses. You think you can cover for me?"

"For sure, girlfriend. Becca and I are at the mall already so that helps."

"Thank you so much! I owe you big time!"

"I'll keep that in mind, but for now, go find out about your dad."

"Alright. Bye."

With that taken care of, Hannah hung up and continued to drive on through the city. After a few minutes, she could see the large building rise up from the horizon with the sun.

"Now all I have to do is find a parking space," she said looking around. "Uh oh. Easier said than done."

**XXX**

Circling around the block for the seventh time, Hannah finally saw an open spot. She parked her car there, threw 3 hours worth of change into the parking meter, and headed inside. She was greeted by a receptionist almost instantly.

"Welcome to the Department of Scientific Research. How may I help you today?" she asked.

"I was wondering if I could speak with Professor Misawa."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"Well, not exactly, but-"

"I'm sorry, Miss, but unless you have an appointment, you can't see him. I can arrange one for you right now though."

"When is he next available?"

"In two months."

"What?! No, I've gotta see him now! Please! He knows my mother. A-and father!" Hannah said anxiously.

The receptionist seemed to think it over for a bit before pressing one of her stubby fingers to the intercom button.

"Dr. Misawa?"

"Yes?" a deep voice with a British accent replied.

"There's a young woman down here who says you know her parents. Should I send her away or would you like to come down?"

"I'll be there in a bit, thank you Dorris."

The receptionist (a.k.a. Dorris) took her finger off the button and glared up at Hannah.

"You better not be lying, blondie, or I'll have security on you so fast you won't even have a chance to say good-bye to Dr. Misawa."

Hannah gulped. _Oh man, I hope he sees my mother in me. Please let him recognize me! Calm down, Hannah. Don't look so nervous or granny over there will suspect you._

Just then, a man with black hair with silver stripes on the side came down the stairs. He was wearing a white lab coat and had a pair of safety goggles resting on the crown of his head. A pair of thick rubber gloves jutted out of his left pocket. He approached the desk Hannah was standing in front of and said, "I'm here now, Dorris. What was it that you said again?"

"This girl here says you're a friend of her parents. She wants to talk to you," Dorris said icily, all the while pointing at Hannah.

The man turned to face her quickly and said, "Ah yes. How good to see you again! My how you've grown up. You're so much taller than the last time I saw you. Come on up to my office, dear."

Both the receptionist and Hannah were shocked at what just happened. Dorris just stared as Dr. Misawa led Hannah up the staircase and out of view. Once they were out of earshot of the ancient receptionist, Bastion began to question the girl before him.

"Alright, I played your little game, now what do you want?"

"It wasn't a game, sir. You really do know my parents…or at least my mother. I came to talk to you to see if you knew who my father is."

Bastion was silent for a moment. The two continued to walk down the long hallway until he stopped abruptly. He opened the door and motioned for her to step inside. When she did, he came in and sat down at a desk. Hannah, however, remained standing.

"Please, take a seat, um…"

"Hannah. Hannah Rhodes."

"Rhodes? So are you Atticus's or Alexis's daughter?"

"Alexis's. Atticus is my uncle."

His face showed surprise for a moment but then it returned to s serious state. "I see. And you think I know who your father is?"

"I was hoping you'd have an idea. My mother doesn't like to talk about him."

"And what makes you think I'm going to tell you anything about him?"

"You know who he is?"

"No but even if I did, I'm not sure I should go behind your mother's back."

"Dr. Misawa, please! I want to find him. My mom, your friend, is missing him. She cries for him every night and I want to bring him back if I can. I just want her to be happy again."

"I suppose my involvement wouldn't cause any harm then," he said, giving her a warm smile.

"Thank you, sir."

"Please, call me Bastion."

"Okay."

"But before we go any further, I need you to do something first."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Duel me," he smirked.

**XXX**

**A/N- All right! Another chapter down! Sorry it took so long. I tried to make this chappy longer to make up for it. The next chapter is going to be a duel and there will be a surprise guest. However, I'm going away on Wednesday night and I won't be back till the 14****th**** so I won't be able to update until after that time. I'll try to finish the next chap. By Wednesday but I'm making no promises. I apologize for this inconvenience. Thanks for reading! RxR!**


	5. Super Chapter: From Duel to Dimension

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh! GX**

**A/N- All of Hannah's monsters were created by me but (most) of the spells and traps are actual cards. Also, when I say toon monsters, I'm not referring to the Toon types Pegasus has. The monsters are cartoonish looking, not toons themselves. They're all fiends really.**

**XXX**

"Duel me," he smirked.

"Are you crazy?"

"Are you chickening out? That's what it sounds like."

"No way! I never back down from a duel!" Hannah replied fiercely.

She pulled out her Academy duel disk from her back pack (which she's had for the entire time, I just forgot to mention it last chapter) along with three deck cases. One was red, one was blue, and the third was black.

_Which one should I use? My Pyro deck, my ice deck, or my toon fiend deck? I haven't really gotten to use that one much. Hmm, maybe I'll-_

"You've brought along more than one deck, I see."

"Yeah, I can't decide which one I should use though."

"Tell you what, I'll pick yours if you pick mine," Bastion smiled, spreading his six decks out on his desk.

"Deal!" Hannah said excitedly.

Bastion picked the black deck case for Hannah while she picked a random one from his desk. They shuffled each others' cards before handing them back over to each other.

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be!"

"Duel!" the two cried in unison. **(B: 4000 H: 4000)**

"Ladies first," Bastion said.

Hannah smiled and drew a card. She studied her hand for a second before deciding on the best tactic.

"Alright, I'll play Polla Pau in attack mode!" A white, toonish polar bear with blue markings appeared on the field **(ATK/DEF: 1300/900)**. "Then I'll set two cards facedown and call it a turn."

"Not bad, but you'll have to do better than that to defeat me. I start off by summoning Hydrogeddon in attack mode (1600/1000) and then I'll have it attack your monster. Go!"

Hannah grimaced as her polar bear was blasted into pieces. _Calm down Hannah. It was just a loss of 300. You can do this. You've just got to wait for the right chance to activate your face downs. Let's hope it comes soon._

**B: 4000 H: 3700**

"Now Hydrogeddon's special ability activates. When it destroys a monster in battle, I get to summon up another Hydrogeddon to the field. I'll place one card face down and end my turn."

_There's two of 'em now?! Oh great!_

"All right," she sighed, drawing a card, "I play Pando Prime in attack mode!"

A cartoon robot panda with a sinister smile appeared in front of her (900/1000). Hannah smirked.

"That thing is even weaker than your last monster!" Bastion exclaimed, surprised.

"I know but Pando has a special ability. You see, when Polla Pau is in the graveyard, Pando's attack points double, raising him up to a total of-"

"1800 attack points!" Bastion said worriedly.

"You betcha! Now Pando, attack his Hydrogeddon!"

"I activate a trap: Mirror Force! Your panda gets destroyed." Bastion smirked.

"I also activate a trap: Trap Jammer. Your mirror force is now null and void and I can continue my attack."

"Well played."

"Thanks."

**B: 3800 H: 3700**

"My draw. Hmm, I'll summon my Oxygeddon (1800/800) in attack mode. Then I'll play premature burial and sacrifice 800 of my life points to bring back the Hydrogeddon you destroyed."

**B: 3000 H: 3700**

"And finally, I'll activate a spell: Bonding H2O. This allows me to tribute my two Hydrogeddons and my Oxygeddon to summon the mighty Water Dragon! (2800/2600)."

"Well, that's a pretty impressive monster. Too bad he's not going to be able to attack me."

"Why is that?" Bastion asked, mildly curious.

"Because I activate my other face down: Swords of Revealing Light! You won't be able to attack for three turns unless you can get rid of the card."

"Clever. Very clever."

Several swords of, um, light came down in front of Bastion and his monster. Hannah smirked. _Finally, I've got a plan! _

"I'm done. You're up," Bastion said.

But before Hannah could draw a card, the door opened. Three men entered the room, followed by a teenage boy. Bastion grinned while Hannah gasped. There stood the three greatest Duelists of her time: Syrus Truesdale, Chazz "The Chazz" Princeton, and Jesse Anderson.

"Terribly sorry, gents. I forgot you were all stopping by today. If you'll just let me finish this duel-"

"Don't worry 'bout it Bastion. Besides, it's been awhile since we've seen you duel," Jesse said calmly, taking a seat by the Doctor's desk. He looked almost the same, except now he had shorter hair and stubble.

"Yeah, Bastion. We can wait," Syrus said. He'd grown quite a bit since the academy days but was still just a few inches shorter than the rest of his guy friends.

"Looks like you're getting beat by a little girl, Bastion," Chazz snickered.

"Excuse me?" Hannah said outraged. "I'm not a little girl. I'm sixteen!"

"Oh, sorry," he replied sarcastically.

"Fine. I'll duel you next. Then we'll see whose laughing."

Chazz just rolled his eyes before sitting down next to Jesse. The unknown boy just surveyed the office, as if he wasn't really interested in anything.

"Ready to pick up where we left off?" Bastion asked Hannah.

"Yep. I draw." A smile flickered across her face. "I'll sacrifice Pando Prime to summon Magmossa (2000/1500) in attack mode!"

A large monster made of lava appeared on the field. I glowered up at Water Dragon, exposing its sharp teeth as it snarled.

It was Bastions turn to grin. _She doesn't know Water Dragon's special ability. All Fire type monsters lose all their attack points while he's on the field. Hmm. Looks like this will be an easy win. All I have to do is get rid of these swords._

"I'll play a face down and that's all."

Bastion drew a card. "I'm going to play two face downs for now. Back to you."

_Only two more turns left till this blasted spell goes away._

"I'll summon my Ink Dragon-Skully (1500/1500)." A small, black dragon with tattered wings appeared on the field. Its bones could bee seen glowing a neon green through the leathery skin despite the fact it was such a dark color. It looked as though it had been drawn with a pen. "Then I'll activate Pot of Greed."

She drew two cards.

"Now I'll play this card: Ink Dragon Curse. When this activates, I choose a monster on my side of the field. Then I cut its attack points in half. As a result, I can special summon another Ink Dragon from my hand. So I think I'll cut Magmossa's 2000 down to a 1000 and special summon Ink Dragon- Splash (1500/1500)."

A blue and white dragon appeared on the field. Its wings seemed to be made of water and, just like Hannah's other dragon, gave the appearance of being expertly drawn by pen: a drawing fresh off the page.

"I'm done now."

_She's up to something big. I can feel it. And why would she cut her strongest monster's attack in half? Unless…she thinks I'll be attacking her dragons and is hoping to spare them for something else. Hmm, quite a predicament. On one hand, I could foil her plans and give her less damage, or I could wipe out most of her life points by attacking her fire monster. The dragons would be the best route I suppose. Just one more turn and I can attack._

"I'll summon the Mathematician in attack mode (1500/500), which means I have to send one card from my hand to my graveyard. That'll do."

"My turn. Draw! I'll summon yet another Ink Dragon. Come out Terra Fersa (1500/1500)!"

The third dragon was made of brown stone. The top of its head, its back, and the back of its wings were covered by green moss.

"It's your turn Professor."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Hannah, but your Swords aren't going to protect you this turn," Bastion said, looking at the card he just drew.

"What? There's still one more turn left!"

"Not after I'm done. First I'll activate one of my face downs: Emergency Provisions. By sacrificing my other face down, I can gain 1000 life points."

**B: 4000 H: 3700**

"Now I activate Heavy Storm, getting rid of your Swords of Revealing light and your face down. Now, Water Dragon, attack Skully!"

Hannah winced as her dragon was blasted by the other dragon's water cannon.

**B: 4000 H: 2400**

"Thanks to his special effect, Skully can't be destroyed in battle."

Bastion clenched his teeth. _An unforeseen complication. No matter, I can finish her off next turn by attacking her Magmossa._

"You're up, Hannah."

She drew her card and frowned. _I thought for sure it would be the one I wanted. Oh well, maybe next turn._

"I switch Skully, Splash, and Terra Fersa into defense position and end my turn."

"Well, then, I guess this is over, Hannah. You see, when Water Dragon is on the field, all fire type monsters attack points are reduced to zero."

Her eyes widened in shock.

"So, Water Dragon, attack her Magmossa and end this duel!"

"Sorry Mr. Misawa, but this duel isn't over yet. Magmossa's got a wicked ability. If he's attacked by a water monster, all damage of the battle goes to the controller of said water monster."

"No!" Bastion yelled as his dragon's attack was forced back to him.

**B: 1200 H: 2400**

"Unfortunately, my Magmossa now has to return to my hand," Hannah said as her monster disappeared from the field.

Bastion growled. "I'll set one card and end my turn. But it doesn't matter, Hannah. I've already calculated your strategy. You can't possibly win. Next turn, your dragons are going to be wiped off the field."

Hannah gulped. _I just need one card, right now! For Ra's sake, let me draw it!_

She closed her eyes before drawing. When she opened them, she gasped.

"You're right, Bastion. My dragons are going to be wiped off the field. I activate this: Ink Dragon Ritual! By tributing Skully, Splash, and Terra Fersa, I can summon my ultimate monster. Come on out Ink Dragon- Colosso (4000/4000)!"

Hannah's three dragons burst into particles of light and then formed into a larger one, only this one had three heads and massive orange wings. It had a strange symbol emblazoned on its dark, purple chest. Its spiky tail swung about menacingly.

"4000 attack points?" Bastion asked, shocked.

"Yep, but Colosso has a nasty side effect. In order to successfully tribute summon him to the field, I have to sacrifice half of my life points along with three ink dragons."

**B: 1200 H: 1200 **

"Incredible. Too bad he's not going to stay around for long. I activate a trap: RaigekiBreak. This allows me to destroy one card on the field as long as I discard a card from my hand. And I think I'll pick-"

"You better not be targeting Colosso, Professor. Spells and Traps don't work on him!"

"Egad!"

"That's right! Colosso, attack his Water Dragon! Ink Fire Blast!"

**B: 0 H: 1200**

"Great game, Ms. Rhodes," Bastion said shaking Hannah's hand.

"Yeah, that was a pretty sweet duel!" she said back.

"Wait, Rhodes? Are you Atticus's daughter?" Chazz asked.

"Eww, no! He's my uncle. I don't know who my father is."

"So then…you're Alexis's daughter?" Syrus asked, somewhat shocked.

"Yeah. What's wrong? You sound kinda strange."

"Well, sorry if this sounds rude but…when exactly did your mom have you?"

"Oh. A few months after she graduated from Duel Academy. She calls me her happy mistake."

It was suddenly silent all around the room. No one dared speak. It was a bit of an out for place topic for them all. The teenager who'd walked in with the Pro Duelists suddenly had his gaze locked on Hannah. He was the one who broke the silence.

"So we're kind of alike. Dad here settled down early," he said, nudging Jesse in the ribs.

Jesse laughed nervously. He was even less comfortable now that he'd been brought into the conversation.

"My name's Ian," he smiled.

"I'm Hannah," she replied back.

Just then, something small and blue jumped onto Ian's shoulder.

"Gah, Ruby! Cut that out!" he yelled as it rubbed up against his face.

Hannah laughed. "That's such a cute duel spirit!"

"Wait? You can see duel spirits?" everyone in the room asked.

"Yeah! I have my own too but he's a bit shy," she smiled.

"This changes everything. Hannah, I know who your father is," Bastion said gravely.

"You do?"

"Yes. I believe he's Jaden Yuki."

Everyone in the room gasped. _Well, he did go to school with my mom. A-and I can't find any information on him, which means he could be in Dark World. Why didn't I see this before?! _

"I think you're right," she said quietly.

"Well no wonder she beat you, Bastion. She's the slacker's daughter!" Chazz exclaimed.

This launched a whole discussion about their school days and the guys settled down for a nice chat, completely ignoring Hannah and Ian. Hannah took it as a nice opportunity to learn more about her parents as the old friends talked of past duels and challenges put upon them. However, when it got to the subject of Dark World, they stopped. Syrus's face portrayed pain and sorrow, along with most everyone else. Everyone, that is, except Hannah and Ian.

"Is he still there? Is my father, Jaden, still in that dimension?"

"I don't know, but I'm almost positive he is. He would've come back with the rest of us," Bastion said quietly.

"Is there any chance he could come back now?"

"It's…very unlikely. I'm sorry, Hannah. Chazz, Syrus, and Jesse are here because this is the same day, sixteen years ago, that we came back without him. This day is like an unofficial holiday to us; we get together to remember Jaden for who he was. It's actually a bit ironic that you came here today looking for him."

"I had no idea that today was…you can't do anything to get him back? You can't open a portal or anything?"

The guys looked at each other quickly before turning their gazes back to the floor.

Hannah gasped in realization. "You've tried that?"

"No, but…there is a way to get back into Dark World from here, we just haven't tested it yet. It's not very stable. Even if it did work, there would be no guarantee that your father's in there, Hannah." He added the last part quickly after reading her expression.

"Can you test it now?"

"Hannah, please! Be rational!"

"I thought you said you'd help me find him."

"I'm not going to let a friend's daughter go off into unfamiliar territory, let alone go through the portal," he said harshly.

Hannah kept up a stern face for a bit longer before sagging dejectedly. "You're right. I apologize-"

"There's no need to. I understand," Bastion said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you let us grown-ups talk for awhile, alright?"

She nodded glumly. She got up from her seat and began to walk around the room. Ian followed.

"I'm sorry about your dad," he said sympathetically.

"Yeah, me too."

**Meanwhile, At The Rhodes Household…**

"Atticus? Could you call Hannah and tell her she should start heading home?" Alexis called from the bathroom.

She looked over herself in the mirror, making sure she looked acceptable for going out tonight (dinner plans from previous chapter) with Atticus, Hannah, Chazz and Jasmine. She was wearing a simple black dress that fell to her knees, matching black sandals, a set of silver earrings and a necklace. She was just applying some lips stick when Atticus walked in.

"Lookin' good, sissy. Hoping to attract a few bachelors tonight, are we?" he asked suavely.

Alexis shot an irritated glance at him. "So, did you reach Hannah?"

"Yes. She's over at her friend's house. She wants to know if she can sleep over there instead of coming tonight."

"I suppose. That will give us a chance to have an adult night out."

Atticus told Hannah it would be okay and hung up.

"Thank you."

"No probs. So, how do you like my outfit for tonight?"

Alexis stared at Atticus, not understanding how she could've missed his attire when he walked in.

"You are not going to wear that _ridiculous _tuxedo," she said venomously, eyeing the tacky baby blue suit with the same ferocity.

"Why not?"

"Do you want to sit at the same table as us?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Then you'll wear something more appropriate for the occasion," she said, calming down.

"Fine," Atticus grumbled as he walked out to change.

Alexis looked herself over once more in the mirror before deciding she was satisfied with her appearance. She turned off the light and shut the door. She went to the kitchen, deciding to refill the water in a vase of flowers on the table. Just as she was turning on the water, there was a knock on the front door.

**Knock Knock**

"I wonder who that could be?" Alexis thought aloud.

She turned off the faucet and walked to the front door, vase still in hand. She opened the door to greet the man standing before her but she froze. Alexis gasped soon after and accidentally dropped the vase. The glass container shattered as it hit the wood floor. The stranger shot her a smile.

"Hey… Lex."

**Back At The Lab…**

Hannah was still wandering around the lab, trying to find the portal Bastion was talking about. _If I can get into it fast enough, they won't be able to stop me. I've got to find it first, though. How hard can it be to find a friggin portal?!_

Her thoughts were cut short as she stubbed her toe on something hard.

"Ouch! Dammit!" she cursed under her breath.

She scanned the area to see what she hit. Her eyes fell upon a piece of metal jutting out from a tarp. Hannah looked around and saw that the adults were still talking. She pulled the black cloth shrouding the device and smiled. Underneath the tarp was what she was looking for: the portal. Hannah checked again to see if anyone had noticed before searching for the power button. It was right on the side and she pushed it. The arch in front of her instantly lit up…but then powered down. Then it lit up again and remained stable. Hannah prepared to dive in when Bastion's voice caught her attention.

"Hannah! Stop!"

He got up to stop her but she jumped. She was about half way through the lit arch when she was slammed back into the ground. Someone on the other side (Bastion's side) had caught her leg and was pulling her back to them.

"No! Let me go!" she shrieked.

Unfortunately, the person didn't respond. Instead, Hannah was yanked back into the lab where Bastion glared at her.

"Do you have any idea what could've happened to you?" he practically yelled.

"I'm not going to let my dad go without a fight. I have to take a few risks if I want to find him," she said back just as loud.

"Like father, like daughter," Chazz said quietly.

"Is that what he really sounded like? Y'know, when he came back to save me?" Jesse asked the spiky haired duelist.

Syrus nodded softly, his eyes never leaving Hannah.

"I think it's time you left," Bastion said.

"Fine!" Hannah shouted angrily.

She got up and began to shove her decks and duel disk back into her bag. She slung it over one shoulder and began to walk towards the door. The tension in the room dissolved as she reached out for the doorknob. In a flash, Hannah pivoted and sprinted past the adults. They could do nothing but watch as she once again headed for the arch. Just as she was about to enter though, Ian blocked her path.

"No, Hannah!" he yelled as she didn't stop.

It was too late. Hannah didn't have enough time to stop before crashing into the teenage boy. Her gained momentum sent both of the tumbling into the portal.

"No! Damn!" Bastion yelled, not knowing what to do.

"What should we do now?" Jesse asked the British scientist.

"I'm…not sure. But we'll get them back Jesse. I can assure you, I'll do everything in my power to bring your son, as well as Hannah, home."

Bastion rushed to his machines, typing in equations and writing down formulas in a notebook near him.

_I've got to get them back as soon as possible. Who knows what danger may await them on the other side?_

**With Hannah and Ian…**

Hannah screamed as she and Ian plummeted downward, spiraling out of control. Streams of green, red, and blue lights passed the two teens at blazing speed. Suddenly, the light below them seemed to rise up towards them. It was bright enough to make Hannah's eyes water. The slightly purple light engulfed the two teens but disappeared abruptly.

When Hannah felt the falling feeling stop, she opened her eyes. She could feel the hard, bare earth beneath her. But what surprised her was that she was face to face with Ian Anderson. She stared into his tuqouise eyes before snapping back to reality.

"Get off of me!" she said roughly, trying to hide her blush.

"Sorry," he said, noticing her blush. "You're embarrassed, aren't you?"

"No!" she said, making her cheeks turn a darker shade.

"Sure."

Hannah bit back a sarcastic remark and took a look around. _No wonder it's called dark world. There's no sun. The only light is coming from that comet above us._

"Need a hand?" Ian asked.

Hannah realized she was still sitting on the ground and accepted his hand gratefully. She noticed a duel disk strapped to his arm; his deck in the slot. It was like her academy disk, but she knew he didn't attend the same school as her. _He must be from one of the other academies. West, South…or maybe North._

"Thanks."

"No proble-"

Ian didn't finish his sentence because a monster in a long blue cloak was shuffling towards them. He instinctively raised his duel disk and took a fighting stance.

"Who are you and what do you want?" his voice boomed across the barren landscape.

**Back At The Rhodes…**

"Why can't I reach her? Of all the times…" Alexis said frustratedly.

She dialed the house phone where she knew Hannah would be sleeping at tonight. It rang twice before someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Cathy. I was wondering if you could tell Hannah to come home now. It's really important and I-"

"Oh I'm sorry, Alexis. Hannah's not here."

"What? She told me she was sleeping over there tonight!" Alexis asked anxiously. She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. It did little to assuage her paranoia.

"Hold on a second," Cathy's voice suddenly hardened.

Alexis cringed as she heard the older woman shout on the other end to her daughter.

"…now you're going to tell her where she is, clear?" was all Alexis could interpret from the conversation going on offline.

"Hi, Ms. Rhodes," a younger voice said shyly over the receiver. "Hannah's not here. I've been covering for her. She's really at the Department of Scientific Research downtown. She was going to see a Dr. Misawa or something. I really don't know… Ms. Rhodes? Are you still there?"

Alexis had dropped the phone as soon as she heard the location and Bastion's last name. She was sprinting out the door and into the car two seconds later, followed by Atticus and the earlier visitor.

_Hannah, why did you choose today of all days?_ She thought, blinking away the tears.

**XXX**

**A/N- and that's all for the super chapter. I combined the two chapters into one since I wanted to make it up to you guys for not updating sooner. Sorry but my job's killing me. Anyways, enjoy. RxR!**


	6. Explanations

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh! GX**

**XXX**

**Recap from last chapter**

"_Thanks."_

"_No proble-"_

_Ian didn't finish his sentence because a monster in a long blue cloak was shuffling towards them. He instinctively raised his duel disk and took a fighting stance._

"_Who are you and what do you want?" his voice boomed across the barren landscape._

**XXX**

"Stay behind me," Ian cautioned as the mysterious figure approached.

"I can take care of myself," Hannah hissed but remained behind him all the same.

The monster approached them with ease. It stopped in front of the two teenagers and rasped: "What are two kids like you doing out here? Don't you know about the dark army?"

"Wha-"

"Go back to wherever you came from…or you'll be sent to the stars. This is not a place to mess around with."

"We can't go back! We have to find my father," Hannah shot back.

This seemed to pique the monster's interest. Ian, however, was less than thrilled.

"Are you insane? We should be trying to get back to the real world. I know you want to find him but-"

"But what? We're here! Why can't we look for him?"

"Who is this man you speak of?" the cloaked monster asked.

"Jaden Yuki," Hannah said, stepping towards the being.

"We can search for him using my crystal. If he's here, we shall see him within," it rasped again, pulling out a crystal ball out of a fold in the cloak.

"Whoa, hold up! You're going to trust this…this thing?! And why are you helping us?" Ian asked suspiciously, turning on the shrouded duel monster.

"I'm not evil like the monsters that make up the King's dark army. I'm part of the Resistance. I would rather aid you in your quest and have you on your way before you get involved with the coming battle. Now, are you willing to let me help?"

Hannah nodded. Ian still wasn't so sure and prepared himself to hightail it out of there should something go wrong. The creature held the magical orb out in front of itself and began saying some sort of gibberish chant. Then, it hissed: "Jaden Yuki".

The teenagers watched in amazement as a purplish smoke swirled around within the globe. Suddenly, people began to appear from the haze. Hannah and Ian gasped as they saw not just Jaden but Chazz, Syrus, Bastion, Alexis, Atticus, and three other boys**(Jim, Axel, and Hassleberry. Hannah and Ian don't know who they are cuz they've never met)** walking along in the dark. Naturally, Jaden was leading the march.

"What the- Hannah, they're all…"

"Kids. Well, teenagers but still."

"I don't think we just traveled into a different dimension, I think we came back in time too."

"But how? That can't be possible."

"I bet it is. I mean, did you hear about all the weird stuff that happened to our parents and their friends? And Bastion did mention that the portal wasn't very stable. It must have somehow sent us back to when our parents were here. That's my best guess."

"Better than anything that I can come up with," Hannah finished.

"Look, look. The crystal still has more to tell," the figure said, pointing to the swirling smoke again.

Hannah peered into the depths of the crystal and gasped. Her mom and (presumably) dad were talking to each other in what appeared to be a hallway. Hannah strained to hear what they were saying.

**Within the crystal ball…**

"You don't get it, do you? You're in real danger, Jaden. You have to be more careful. I'm serious!" Alexis said angrily.

"All right! Relax," Jaden rolled his eyes

"I mean it!"

Jaden looked like he was going to yell something back but his face softened. He could tell Alexis was really worried about him.

"Okay. I'll be more careful, Lex," he said sincerely.

Alexis watched as he turned to leave.

**(A/N- all of that was actual dialogue from episode 133: Friend or Fiend. I just added some more narration to it. None of what follows is in that episode, but is loosely based on it. Remember, this is all taking part in the crystal ball.)**

"Jaden, wait!" Alexis called, running after him.

"What is it, Lex?"

"Jaden, I'm sorry I yelled. It's just that I'm-"

"Worried?"

"Yeah. And also, well, Jaden, I…I really like you and I…"

Jaden looked at her, waiting for her to continue. He noticed her face was turning a deep shade of red. _She's blushing? _And then her words registered in his mind. _She really likes me? She feels the same way!_ She was still struggling to say whatever was on her mind.

"…and I think I m-might l-love yo-" Alexis stuttered but was suddenly silenced.

Her eyes widened as she felt Jaden's warm lips press against her own but felt herself instantly relax when he wrapped his arms around her waist. She threw her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.

After what seemed like an eternity, the two broke from the kiss breathing rather raggedly. Jaden flashed Alexis his famous smile. She snuggled against his chest, still in his embrace.

"I love you," they said simultaneously.

Both Jaden and Alexis started laughing, but Alexis stopped soon after and hugged Jaden tightly.

"What's wrong?" Jaden asked.

"I don't know why but I suddenly feel like if I let go of you, you'll disappear."

"That's ridiculous, Lex."

"Is it, Jaden? How do I know you're not going to go run off to find Jesse as soon as I'm not looking?"

"Lex, come on."

"Stay with me," she whispered.

"What?"

"Stay with me tonight. Please. So I know you won't leave our friends…or me."

"Lex, I-"

"Please, Jaden."

He looked down at her face and saw tears threatening to fall from her eyes at any second. He gave a small smile and kissed her forehead.

"Okay, Lex. I'll stay."

She smiled up at him, letting him wipe away a stray tear. The teens shared a quick kiss before returning to their friends who were sitting around a fire. Chazz was yelling at Atticus, claiming he had a stash of marshmallows somewhere **(Chazz mentioned something about them in the same episode)**. The gang sat around and talked for awhile before Sir Freed showed them to their rooms. Jaden followed Alexis in to one and-

"Okay. I really don't need to see what happens next," Hannah told the monster.

**( btw this is outside of the crystal ball now)**

"You don't want to see?" the monster asked curiously.

"No thank you! I have an idea of what's about to happen and that is something I really don't want to imagine."

She stepped away from the crystal and shuddered involuntarily. _There are just some things I don't really need to know. Thanks for mentioning this night to me, mom, _she thought sarcastically. She turned back to the monster.

"So all we have to do is find the place they're staying in right now and-"

"No, Hannah. This is the past, remember? It's not like we can go up to your parents and their friends and say 'Come back with us" or anything," Ian said sharply.

"Why?"

A vein began to throb on his forehead. "Your dad is our age right now. We, or rather you, came here to look for his present self not his past self even though he's his present self in this time, not past but he's not our time's present self so…wait, where was I going with this?"

"I don't know. See ya!" Hannah said, taking off.

Ian caught her arm and spun her around to face him.

"I don't think so. We should try to find a way out of here."

"I say we try and fix the time now so there's a way for my dad to return to Duel Academy with his friends when that time comes for them."

"What? We don't…we can't…look, even if I agreed to help you, which I'm not, we don't even know where we are. And how are we supposed to 'fix' the time stream so that happens?"

"I've just got this gut feeling telling me we're supposed to stay here and change something."

"By stay here you mean…"

"Stay in this dimension."

"Of course. Why did I follow you in here?"

"Because you care," Hannah smirked.

"Hmm, right," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, where did that duel monster go? It was standing there a second ago and now it's gone."

"I'm right here," it rasped behind the two.

"Holy shit!" Hannah yelled, jumping into Ian's arms.

"Scared are we?" he teased.

"Shut up and put me down!"

"Whatever," he said, dropping her.

"Grrr, that's not what I meant," she scowled from the ground.

"I know," he smirked.

"If you two are done bickering, maybe you'd like to see this latest development," the creature said, displaying the mystical orb once again.

**Inside…Again…**

Jaden kissed Alexis's cheek before leaving the stone bedroom. He closed the door and took off down a hallway and out a door. Then, the crystal fogged over and produced an entirely different scene.

Jaden was dueling someone in the bottom of a coliseum but his eyes were on people chained up above him: Atticus, Alexis, and Hassleberry. There was an empty set of chains too. Suddenly, all three were turned into particles of light and Jaden let out a cry of pain.

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

The crystal stated to cloud, but unlike the purplish smoke from before, this was a sinister black cloud.

**Back With Hannah & Ian…**

"What's happening?" Hannah asked warily.

The orb started to shake and crack. The black smoke seeped out and the teens backed away quickly. The monster dropped it and followed suit. The ball cracked in half and spilled the remaining smoke out. The three bystanders gasped as an evil laugh boomed throughout the wasteland and two golden eyes peered out at them from the black smog.

"Long live the Supreme King!" it shouted maliciously.

"Let's get out of here!" Ian said, turning to run.

"Follow me!" the monster said, running down a hill.

Ian looked at Hannah who shrugged and ran after the monster.

**Bastion's Laboratory…**

"Oh man, hurry up, Bastion!" Jesse said impatiently.

He was currently pacing the length of the room. Chazz was sitting in the corner, brooding to himself. Syrus seemed to be deep in thought. Bastion was running around hectically, punching buttons on different machines.

"I'm doing the best I can, Jesse!" he yelled in response.

Just then, the door burst open and in ran three people. Everyone turned their heads in that direction and gasped.

"Where's Hannah?" Alexis panted, clearly out of breath from running.

"I knew you'd be showing up soon, Alexis, but I didn't expect Atticus or…Great Scot! Jaden… is that you?"

"Long time no see, Bastion, Syrus, Chazz and Jess. What've I missed?"

"A lot!" Jesse exclaimed, giving his old buddy a noogie. "Where have you been, dude?"

Jaden stopped smiling. "I couldn't return with you guys. At first, I thought you guys would hate me and not want me to come back at all, but I was headed back to DA with you until-"

"Until what, Jay?" Syrus asked, shocked to see his best friend standing in front of him alive.

"The Darkness. I had to stop it from coming to Earth with all of you. I couldn't bear the thought of you all being put in that kind of danger so… I sealed the portal before either I or it could get out."

His friends looked at him in awe.

"Still the big shot hero, huh Slacker?" Chazz smiled.

"Aw man, it's good to see you all again," he beamed. "Especially you, Lex."

He hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head. "Now, where's this troublesome daughter I've heard all about," Jaden sighed.

Everyone glanced at each other before averting their gazes from the three newcomers.

"Well, Jaden, she sort of…used my portal to go into Dark World to look for you."

"WHAT?!" Alexis exploded.

She was in front of Bastion in a fraction of a second and he could do nothing as she seized the front of his lab coat and slammed him against the wall.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP HER?" she yelled in his face.

"Lexi, calm down," Atticus said, speaking for the first time since they left the house.

She turned on him.

"Alexis, wait! Before you get angry-"

"IT'S TOO LATE FOR THAT, BASTION!"

"Right. Before you get even angrier," he amended, "we're working on a solution to get her and Ian out right now."

"Hannah and who?" Atticus asked.

"My son, Ian," Jesse said quietly.

"Wow, I did miss a lot," Jaden said scratching his head.

"Which reminds me, Jaden, why are you here now? How did you suddenly 'come back'?" Bastion asked perplexed.

"I've been waiting for another portal to open for a long time. I was starting to lose hope after awhile. I mean, I was gone for what, fourteen years?"

"Sixteen," Alexis corrected, calming down.

"Oh yeah. Anyways, when I was trapped in Dark World, I was either dueling Darkness or searching for a way out. After fighting against it for so long though, the darkness faded away, but I was still stuck. And then, something strange happened. I was just walking around aimlessly when it happened."

He paused for a second and smiled as he saw Alexis' eyes glued to him.

"It was out of nowhere. A pillar of light erupted barely ten feet in front of me. I didn't know where it was going but, I had to try, right? So I ran into it, not knowing what was on the other side. Man, I've done that a lot in my life, haven't I?"

His friends and Alexis grinned sadly.

"What happened next?" Syrus asked curiously.

"You'll never guess where I ended up," Jaden smirked.

"Where? Duel Academy?" Chazz guessed.

"Fine, I guess you can guess. But yeah, I ended up back at Duel Academy. Chancellor Sheppard was there with Professor Eisenstein or stien or what ever his name is. Apparently they've been monitoring the energy levels around the island and it suddenly spiked. They decided to try and open another portal and…it worked. I guess it was all just luck. Or maybe Destiny," he joked.

Everybody laughed at the dark humor of their second year. Everyone, that is, except Alexis.

"But how did you find me?" she asked.

"Chancellor Sheppard helped me with that too. He told me you'd snagged a job there and gave me your address, along with all of yours too," he said, directing the last part at his friends. "So I flew out today and arrived here just about two hours ago. Man, I can't believe you're in the Pros, Sy! I knew you could do it! You too Chazz! And Bastion is as smart as ever. And Jesse, you've got a family…"

He continued to ramble on but Alexis got hung up on the word 'family'. That reminded her why they were here.

"Bastion, how close are you to getting Hannah," she shot a glance at Jesse, "and Ian out of…um, where are they?" she interrupted.

Bastion sighed with a heavy heart. "I believe they're both in Dark World but my portal is nowhere near as stable as the previous ones we've gone through. It could take a few minute, a few hours, or even a few days. I'm sorry, Alexis. I'm doing the best I can. I'll start calculating right now."

"Thank you," she whispered, walking away.

She stood off to the side by herself. Atticus went to go comfort her but Jaden stopped him. He mouthed 'let me talk to her' and walked towards the blonde beauty. He hugged her from behind. Their friends just looked on as if it was obvious that they were together, despite the fact they never actually knew about the twos relationship.

"So, I have a daughter who gets in as much trouble as I do?" Jaden asked with a hint of a laugh in his voice.

"Oh Jaden, she's just like you. She's so energetic and happy and…she really likes the color red," Alexis smiled.

"But I bet she looks exactly like you," he mused.

"Well, not exactly like me but we do share some of the same traits."

"I bet she kicks ass in dueling!" Jaden said excitedly. "I'll have to duel her when she comes back."

"Jaden, she doesn't like dueling."

"What?!" He looked like he was going to have a heart attack.

"I'm just kidding!" Alexis laughed.

"Aw man, don't scare me like that, Lex," he breathed.

She laughed again and turned around to face him.

"I'm really glad you're here now. It makes this…situation more bearable."

"I'm glad to be here too," he replied.

They kissed each other passionately. _I knew he'd come back. I knew it! Thank you for bringing him back. Thank you for bringing Jaden back, _Alexis thought as they broke apart.

"If you two are done flirting over there, maybe you can come here and help us out," Atticus snickered.

The reunited couple turned to look at their friends and saw Bastion giving out tasks of what to do with certain machines.

"Let's go get Hannah back," Jaden said to Alexis.

She nodded firmly, a look of determination on her face. They set to work right away, plugging in different pieces of tech and other equipment.

_I'll bring her back just for you, Jaden, just so you can see her. Then, maybe, we can be a real family._

**XXX**

**End of another chapter. Sorry for taking so long to update but my computer crashed and the hard drive was completely wiped. Thankfully I had this story saved on a flash drive. I need to bring something to your attention however. I have been nice and allowed anonymous review on this story but that can be changed if a certain reviewer continues to be arrogant and pushy. Honestly, there was no need to be so rude. I can tolerate comments, criticism, and questions but threatening me and being impolite like that is crossing the line, so please, anonymous reviewer(s), think before you type.**


	7. The Cave

I apologize for flipping out before in the previous chapter, I'm just very stressed out

**I apologize for flipping out before in the previous chapter, I tend to do that easily when I'm stressed so, I'm sorry for getting angry at the reviewer. Anyways, this chapter is really just going to be about character development, namely Hannah and Ian. That way everyone will get to know them better. Wow that sounded corny. Oh well, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh! GX**

**XXX**

"Keep up you two!" the mysterious monster called over its shoulder.

Hannah and Ian were falling behind, despite the fact that they were running for their lives. Both were running out of steam but didn't dare look back to see if anything was following them. Suddenly, Hannah tripped.

"Ouch," she said loudly, looking down at her skinned hands.

"Are you okay?" Ian asked, stopping and bending down to her level.

"I'm fine, just go! I'll catch up, jeez!" she said gruffly.

"Whatever, drama queen," he said, getting back up.

"Sorry," she mumbled as she got up too. "Hey, where did that thing go? You know we should've really asked for a name or something. I mean, it's not very polite to go around calling somebody an It."

"I guess we're just too slow to keep up. Hey, there's nothing following us. Why don't we look for a cave or something to rest in? Or at least some place to clean up your hands. Do they hurt?"

"Stings a little, but not unbearably painful," Hannah replied.

The two set off to look for some sort of shelter. It wasn't long before they stumbled across a river. Hannah knelt at the edge and soaked her hands in the clear water. Ian noticed her wince as her hands resurfaced.

"Hold on for just a second," he said to her.

She watched him curiously as he ripped a strip of his sleeve off. It was the first time Hannah noticed what he was wearing. A navy polo with white stripes, khaki shorts and a matching jacket tied around his waist went well with his teal hair. She found herself surveying his face as he dipped one end of the piece of cloth into the water. Hannah shook her head and returned to reality.

"You didn't have to do that," she said quietly.

"Do what?"

"Rip your sleeve."

"It's no big deal. Besides, I hate polos. My dad made me wear this to look 'presentable' to his friends."

"I think it looks good on you," Hannah smiled.

"Thanks," he blushed. "Now give me one of your hands."

She did as he said, holding her left hand out, palm up. Ian dabbed at the cuts with the wet end before gently wiping it dry with the dry end. He repeated the process with her right hand.

"Thanks," she said appreciatively.

"Yeah, well, it would hurt a lot worse if it got infected so I thought I'd help, just in case."

The teenagers started walking again. It was relatively silent between them. Hannah kept glancing over at the boy walking along beside her. _Why can't I stop staring? He's really nice and everything but…I don't know. Why can't I get him off my mind? I know I don't have feelings for him…do I? No, impossible._

"Hannah? Hannah? You all right?" Ian asked.

"Uh, yeah. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing important," she said nonchalantly.

_Liar! _her mind screamed.

"Okay. Anyways, it's raining. I was asking you to help me look for shelter."

"Raining?" she looked up at the sky, wondering why she hadn't felt it. "Yeah, sure."

"Man are you out of it. You didn't feel it falling?"

"No," she admitted. "Hey, what's over there?"

Ian squinted to see where she was pointing and saw a dark opening in the face of a rock.

"It might be a cave. Let's go check it out," he said as he began to run towards it.

"Wait up!" Hannah called as she ran after him.

They were there in a matter of seconds and it was indeed a cave.

"Let's check it out," Ian said, walking in.

"At least it'll keep us out of the rain," Hannah thought aloud.

She followed him inside and discovered the cave wasn't deep at all. In fact, it was only about 7 feet from the opening. The ceiling was a different story though. It seemed to go on forever but no light came from the top which meant it had to end somewhere. The cave was plenty wide enough for them to sit comfortably with out it being awkward. In other words, they weren't squished together.

"This is so much better," Hannah said, resting against the wall.

"Definitely. I'm so beat from all that running," Ian agreed.

"How long d'you think we'll be here?" Hannah asked.

"I dunno. The rain doesn't look like it's about to let up any time soon. It actually looks like its raining harder."

"What're we going to do?"

"Wait around until it lightens up."

"Hmm, well if we're going to be here for a while, why don't we get to know each other better."

"Kay. You go first."

"What? Why?"

"You suggested it."

"Alright. Well, I'm sixteen, I go to Duel Academy, and I live with my mom," Hannah listed.

"Are you a Slifer, Ra, or Obelisk?"

"Obelisk Blue, just like my mom," Hannah said proudly.

"That's cool. So you must be pretty good at dueling."

"Yeah but that's not the only reason I got there. Being smart helps too. Now it's your turn."

"Okay. Um, I go to North Academy. It's pretty cool but I was thinking about transferring to DA. Dad said it was really fun there. Hey, do you have anything to do there besides dueling?"

"In gym class we play tennis," Hannah frowned.

"You don't sound very happy about that."

"I **hate **tennis," she scowled.

"It's not that bad. Are you just not good at it?"

"You could say that. Stupid Crowler," she muttered.

"Crowler? My dad told me he was the guy teacher who dressed like a lady," Ian chuckled.

"Yeah well, we don't really know if he's a he or a she so it's better just to say Doctor Crowler."

Ian laughed and so did Hannah.

"I can't believe he told you about that!"

"Yeah well, my dad loves to reminisce about his school days."

"What about your mom? Is she really nice?"

"Amelia?" he asked, addressing his mother by her first name. "Oh yeah, but she gets on my nerves all the time. 'Tuck in your shirt, sit up straight' she'd always say."

"My mom's pretty cool but she has a panic attack if I'm a second late for anything. She's afraid to let me out of her sight for more than a few hours. Oh crap, she's probably freaking out right now. The last time I talked to her was this morning. I'm going to be in so much trouble when we get back."

"Why is she like that?"

"My mom? I think it's because she's scared to lose me. She really misses my dad and I'm the closest person to him. She compares me to him all the time. She doesn't want to lose me like she lost him and- oh man, I've done just that! I'm stuck in Dark World. How could I do that to her, after all she's done for me?"

She sat there, looking down at the ground, her chin resting on her knees.

"Don't beat yourself up, Hannah. Your mom will understand when we get back."

"If we get back," Hannah said quietly.

"We will and you know it!" Ian said fiercely. "Bastion's working on a way to get us out of here right now, I'm positive."

Hannah didn't respond.

"Look at me," Ian said softly.

Hannah glanced at him but didn't move.

"Hannah, why must you be so stubborn? Look," he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "everything's going to work out, you'll see. Weren't you the one who was so confident that we could change your dad's future?"

"Yeah but-"

"No buts. We're here and sticking to your plan, got it?"

Hannah looked up and smiled. "Thanks, Ian. I needed that."

"No big, but I do have one last question. What is that?" he pointed at her.

Hannah looked to where he was pointing. There was something dark on the sleeve of her zip-up sweatshirt.

"Oh it's just a scorpion. A scorpion? Shit! Get it off! Get it off!" she screamed, getting up and running around.

Ian watched as she ran outside of the cave and threw off her red jacket, which the scorpion was still on, and ran back inside completely soaked. She let out a sigh of relief before sitting down again. It wasn't long before she was shivering.

"You're cold."

"No shit, Sherlock," Hannah spat.

"That must be your favorite word. Now put this on before you get sick," he said, handing her the jacket that was tied around his waist.

_She looks like she's gonna freeze any second now. I mean sitting in a t-shirt and shorts isn't going to do much, _he thought.

She took it gratefully and shrugged it on. Ian leaned over and buttoned it up for her. It was then that Hannah realized that this was a North Academy letter jacket (like a football one). She blushed instantly when she thought about how guys in the movies gave those kinds of jackets to their girlfriends.

"What's wrong? You look a little red," Ian said worriedly.

"I'm fine. It's just that, won't you get cold now?"

"Nah, I'll be all right," he smiled.

A gust of wind blew through the cave and Ian shivered. Hannah arched an eyebrow at him and he smiled sheepishly. She scooted over next to him and took off the jacket. She spread it out across both of them. Ian opened his mouth to object but Hannah pressed a finger to his lips.

"We're going to share, got that?"

He nodded. "Okay but under one condition."

"What?"

"You have to tell me more about yourself," he grinned.

"Fine."

Hannah went on and on talking about school and friends and home before turning the spotlight on Ian. He talked about his home life too and described how different North Academy was. After what seemed like an hour, the conversation died down. Hannah stifled a yawn but it didn't go unnoticed by Ian.

"You tired?"

"Yeah. I didn't know talking could wear me out so much," she laughed.

"Go ahead and fall asleep. I don't mind."

"But-"

"Honestly, Hannah, you look tired. At least rest your eyes for a couple of minutes."

"M'kay," she mumbled, already drifting.

Ian glanced at her sideways and saw that she had dozed off. Her head slumped against his shoulder. Ian brushed the hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. He saw how peaceful she looked and smiled.

_She's so amazing. She loves dueling, she's passionate, she's…pretty. Why am I feeling this way? I just met her a few hours ago and yet she's closer to me than some of my friends are. Maybe it's because her dad and my dad were tight at school and we're just meant to be alike. What am I saying? I've gone crazy. Besides, it's not like she feels the same way about me. And I shouldn't care what she thinks. I'm better off on my own. This is just a phase, just a- _

His thoughts were interrupted as Hannah's head snuggled against his shoulder and she sighed, "Ian". His stomach fluttered.

_She had to make this harder, didn't she? Why did she say my name? Is she dreaming about me? Don't be ridiculous. Of course she's not. What am I thinking? And why am I so tired?_

He yawned before closing his eyes. _I'll just rest my eyes. Yeah…_

It wasn't long before he too was asleep. The rain was still pounding down outside but neither teen noticed. Both were in a deep sleep. Night turned into day, though no one could tell due to the lack of sun. The clouds moved westward, along with the rain, and the comet in the sky became visible once again. What little light came from it inched its way into the cave where Hannah and Ian were sleeping. Hannah's eyes flickered under her eyelids as the rays fell upon them. She opened her eyes slowly and looked outside.

"Still as dark as ever, huh Ian?" she said quietly.

There was no response. Hannah tried to crane her neck up but felt something holding her head down. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ian's eyes closed. She gasped when she realized his head was resting on top of hers. She blushed but got over it quickly when she felt the stiffness in her neck start to hurt.

"Ian. Ian. Wake up. Wake up!"

She felt him stir and he lifted his head up. She did so as well and stopped as her eyes met his. His piercing green eyes made her freeze. She found that she couldn't look away.

_Not that I'd want to. His eyes are so…so…magnetic._

She sighed. Ian couldn't tear away his gaze from her either. In fact, he started to lean closer to her. He felt his heart rate increase as did she. The distance between them was growing smaller by the second. Hannah felt her eyes start to close as she got closer and closer to his face. They were more than half way already. Their noses brushed but neither pulled away at the contact. Ian felt his palms start to sweat. His eyes began to close too. Their lips were just centimeters apart.

"There you two are! I've been looking for you for hours," the cloaked monster called joyously from the mouth of the cave.

Hannah jerked away, startled by the outburst, and fell flat on her back. Ian had also jerked away but was looking to the side as if nothing happened. His face betrayed him though as a red blush spread like wild fire across his features.

"Now let's get a move on, shall we?" the monster beckoned with a gloved hand.

**XXX**

**Yay! Another chappy down! I'm going to try and crank out as many chapters as possible next week before I get into preseason cuz trust me, when that starts, I can't get nothing done. I'm too busy recovering! Anyways, hope you enjoyed this little twist and let me know how you feel about Hannah and Ian's relationship. Should it go on? Should it be shut down? RxR! **


	8. Old Faces

Hannah shot it an irritable look before getting up and dusting herself off

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh! GX

**XXX**

Hannah shot the cloaked fiend an irritable look before getting up and dusting herself off. Ian followed suit and stretched. The teens remained silent as they left the cave. Hannah scooped up her sweatshirt from the ground and found that it was dry and the scorpion gone. She slipped it on over her white t-shirt and followed the monster. Ian ran to catch up with the other two members of their ragtag group.

Before long, Hannah struck up a conversation with the monster while Ian was in deep thought. He walked behind the two, not picking up a word they were saying. Instead he was thinking about what had just happened. Hannah, however, was chatting up a storm to their beastly guide.

"You saw us didn't you? We almost kissed! What the hell?! I just met him yesterday for pete's sake."

"Aren't you worried he'll hear you?"

"He's so spaced out right now that a bomb could drop and he wouldn't notice," Hannah said, looking back at Ian.

"So how do you feel about him?" the monster questioned.

"I don't know but, everything just happened so fast. When I first saw him, he looked so bored but only talked to me once we were away from his dad and other adults. Then he tried to stop me from jumping through the portal and ended up falling in himself. Then we were here and you and the cave and gah!"

"You didn't answer my question."

"Huh?"

"Do you like him in return?"

"Well…maybe. But I'm not sure because we-"

"…just met yesterday. You already said that."

"Wait! Why am I asking you for advice? You're a monster."

"Gee thanks."

"That's not what I meant. It's just that I don't really know who you are- what you are- and I'm asking for your advice."

"You could've asked me, you know."

"I couldn't think of a way to phrase it politely."

Hannah watched as it lowered its' hood. She gasped when an elderly woman's face came into view. The woman smiled at her reaction.

"Well, my name is Zora. I am a fortune teller, not a duel monster. I am as human as you are, dear child. I, along with other members of my village awoke one night. We went outside and found that we had somehow traveled to this strange land.

"No one knew by which means we arrived here but since I was a being who dwelled in the supernatural, suspicions were pinned on me. My own friends accused me of witchcraft. Ha! The treachery! Thus, I was forced to flee my village lest I be burned to death."

"That's awful," Hannah sympathized. "But wait, if you're human, why are you wearing this getup?"

"The dark army is looking for me, looking for any human, especially now with the new king. I-"

"New king?"

"Yes. The sights we've seen in the crystal showed us who he was before the great darkness in his heart claimed him. He's the one you're after I believe; the object of your quest. The one named Jaden Yuki."

"He's the king?"

"No. He is the Supreme King, ruler of Dark World, destroyer of life itself. His army rounds up the innocent and he duels them, beats them, and sends them…to the stars."

"No! My mom never said he was like that. She said he was kind and gentle and caring, not-"

"This female you talk about, was she the blonde in the coliseum?"

"Yes."

"She has been sent to the stars. It is too late. She will never come ba-"

"That's a lie! If she didn't come back, then why am I here?! She returned to her world and had me. And she's still there! And so are the rest of the people who were chained up in that damned arena. I wouldn't be standing here- living, breathing- if it was _**too late**_," Hannah snarled.

The woman's face displayed shock but she quickly adjusted her face to a more composed expression before speaking.

"If what you say is true-"

"Which it is!"

"…then it is possible that when beings here are sent to the stars, they aren't destroyed but rather… transported to a different dimension. That would be the only possible way for your mother to have returned to your world. After all, it's impossible to raise the dead."

Her last sentence made Hannah cringe. They walked along silently again which was perfectly fine with Hannah. She was starting to get unsure about following this person. Ian was still trudging behind them, still thinking to himself.

_I am such an idiot! What was I thinking? Oh wait, I wasn't. I was too busy staring into her eyes, her beautiful brown eyes. Agh, I'm getting off topic here. What is wrong with me? I met her yesterday. There's no way I can like her or even love her. Sure, she's a nice person but honestly…hmm, actually, I could have feelings for her. I mean, she is pretty attractive and smart. She's awesome at dueling and she's not afraid of talking to me openly. I can be pretty open with her too. It's like she's perfect! But…_

_What am I thinking? She obviously has no interest in me. She didn't seem to mind though when we were about to- no! Stop it! Stop thinking she likes you! I'll only disappoint myself later. There's no point in getting my hopes up only to be crushed later. Okay, so I like her but I can't let her know or I'm doomed. Aw man, how long has she been talking to me?_

Hannah was now walking next to him, trying to break him out of his revere. She shook his shoulder which seemed to bring him about.

"Eh? Hannah, what are you doing?"

"Trying to wake you up. Seriously, I thought you were sleepwalking or something."

"Ha ha, very funny."

She smiled at him. He looked at her weirdly as she got a mischievous glint in her eyes. He opened his mouth to ask her what was up but she beat him to the punch.

"Soooooooooooooo, why were you sulking back here? You were really out of it."

"Oh, I was just thinking about some things," he replied carefully.

"Were you thinking about what happened in the cave?" she asked bluntly.

Ian suddenly felt very uncomfortable. He scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Well…"

"You like me, don't you?" Hannah smiled, again with the blunt forwardness.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Ian swallowed.

"Oh come on, Ian, we almost kissed back there," she said, stepping in front of him with her hands on her hips.

"What's with this sudden boldness?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"I've got my father's confidence," she waved off the comment. "You didn't answer my question."

"Uh, I, um, you see I-"

"We're here!" Zora called happily.

Ian sighed in relief while Hannah scowled. The woman had gotten in her way once again. Both looked at their destination and gasped. It appeared to be a large stone fortress. A voice called down at them from the top of the wall facing them.

"State your business or leave," a man in a suit of armor called.

"It is I, Zora. I have returned with two other humans. I found them stranded out in the desert," the cloaked woman replied.

"Very well then. You may enter."

The drawbridge lowered and two guards ushered the three inside. The door began to raise as soon as Hannah, Ian, and the fortune teller were inside. It was closed before they could take another step forward.

"Welcome, young ones," a different knight said, approaching them.

Zora walked away into the crowd of duel monsters while Hannah and Ian were left with him.

"Follow me. I think you should meet someone. Perhaps he knows you," he mused aloud, beckoning the teens to follow him.

He walked several yards forward, parting the crowd so they could get through. A center building loomed ahead of them. The knight led them through a dark entryway and up a set of stairs. Ian glanced around warily, expecting something to pop out at them. Hannah just walked calmly forward behind the man. He stopped in front of a heavy wooden door.

"In here there is another human boy. You may know him for he mentioned something of his friends being lost here as well."

"Thank you," Hannah said politely.

The man nodded and left them. Hannah reached for the door.

"What are you doing?" Ian asked incredulously.

"Going inside," Hannah said simply.

"No you're not. We don't know who's in there. It could be a trap."

"Maybe, but I don't think so. I just got this feeling."

"Of course you do, Hannah. Come on, don't go."

Before she could argue, something blue and white sprang up out of nowhere. It was a tiny fox pup, navy and white in color. It growled up at Hannah.

"I told you it was a trap!" Ian said, positioning himself in front of her.

"It is not! That's just Vix, my duel spirit," Hannah rolled her eyes.

"Vix? Duel spirit? What?" Ian was perplexed.

"Vix the Sly, Vix for short. He's very protective of me and doesn't want me to go inside," Hannah explained, holding out a duel monster card with the same creature on it. 

"So he's on my side?" Ian calmed down.

"Unfortunately, yes," Hannah frowned as the fox jumped into her arms. "I was wondering when you were going to show up." She petted him.

"I guess duel monsters are tangible in this world," Ian said leaning closer to the little creature curled up in her arms.

"He must like you," Hannah said quietly as she inched towards the door.

"Why is that?"

"He didn't growl at you."

"Lucky, I guess," Ian shrugged.

"Too bad neither of you can stop me!" Hannah said, bolting through the door.

Ian rushed in after her but ended up running straight into her on the other side. She was frozen to the spot, looking at the scene before them. Two teenagers were staring at them with shock on their faces.

"Jesse? Alexis? What are you doing here?" the boy with glasses and a cloak asked.

"Syrus, I don't think-" the second one began but was cut off by Hannah.

"I'm sorry but you must be thinking of someone else. My name's Hannah and this is Ian. We're new around here."

"Oh. I thought…nevermind," Syrus shook his head. "What're you doing here?"

"Yeah, how do we know you're not with the king?" the second boy asked.

"Calm down, Axel. The Supreme King doesn't keep _humans_ around," Syrus said, putting emphasis on the word humans.

He smiled at Hannah and Ian while Axel watched them suspiciously.

"So, where are you guys from?" Syrus asked finally.

Ian and Hannah glanced at each other nervously.

"Er, we…um, we-"

"We're from Domino. A portal opened up out of nowhere and dumped us here, out on the fringe of Dark World. Zora found us," Ian said calmly.

Hannah ogled him before nodding in agreement. Axel picked that up and filed it away for later. Syrus, however, just seemed to be glad that he wasn't stuck with Axel for the rest of the day (not that he's bad or anything; he's just intimidating).

"Oh. That's weird," Syrus replied. "Sorry but you guys really look like two of my friends who are…lost here. I thought for a second that they'd come back but…never mind."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Hannah apologized, feeling sad for him.

"Don't worry about it. Now that I look at you two, I see that there are a lot of subtle differences. I mean, Jesse's eyes were a different color than yours, not to mention the hair style! And Alexis never had brown streaks in her hair and your eyes are darker like Ja-" he stopped, pain engulfing his face.

Hannah knew that Syrus was her dad's best friend and smiled at the blunette sadly. She tried to think of something comforting to say but was disrupted by shouts from outside. Axel ran from the room immediately while it took the rest of the teens to register what was going on before sprinting out the door as well. The three ran down the stairs and back outside where they were greeted by a new crowd of people led by two duelists: one in a gray suit, the other in a black trench coat thingy.

"Thought you could use some back up, Axel," the boy in gray called out.

Hannah immediately recognized him as Aster Phoenix, currently a Pro Duelist and a future Dueling Manager. Beside him was Zane Truesdale, Syrus's older brother who would follow in the same footsteps as his rival. The two walked forward towards their group. Axel backtracked to Ian, Hannah, and Syrus as well.

"Jesse? Alexis?" Aster questioned from a few feet away.

Ian and Hannah sweatdropped.

"Nope, just two kids from Domino, that's all," Hannah said nervously, scratching the back of her head.

"Sorry about that," he said, "it's just that you two-"

"Look like two of your friend. Yes, we've been through this before," Ian said quickly.

"Right."

"So," Zane ignored them, turning to Axel. "What's the plan?"

"These people can't fight. They're tired and hungry and most of them aren't even duelists. They need to stay here and be protected. That's where you guys come in," Axel began.

"Sounds alright, but what are you going to do?" Aster asked.

He winked at Hannah who laughed nervously. Ian bristled at her side and glared at the silver haired duelist.

"There's only one thing I can do." Axel said, bowing his head.

Hannah understood immediately what he was going to say.

"Defeat the Supreme King," both she and Axel said quietly.

**XXX**

**Sorry for the long update time! I'm having major writers block right now and I have no idea what I'm going to write about next chapter! If you guys have and ideas or suggestions or whatever, please RxR! Thanks for reading the chappy! I'll update when I can. Thx!**


	9. Feelings

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh! GX**

**And yes, Yubel did fuse with Jaden.**

**XXX**

"Of course!" Aster exclaimed sarcastically.

Meanwhile, Axel and Hannah were staring each other down for saying the same thing at the same time. Axel looked at her mistrustfully while she looked at him seriously.

"Are you the one who faces, I mean, is going to face him?" Hannah asked.

"I have to," he said to her before turning to the rest of the group. "Jim left me the Eye of Orichalcum so I can defeat the king."

"Wait a minute!" Syrus yelled eagerly.

"What is it, Syrus?" Aster asked, looking to the shorter boy.

"Yes, what's on your mind, little brother?" Zane asked rather coldly.

"I've got an idea! Axel, didn't you say that Jim thought it would be easier to free Jaden (wince) if we could get him to remember us. Like, break through the Supreme King's mind to find him?"

"Yeah, where are you going with this, Syrus?" Axel asked, confused.

Actually everyone was confused, especially Hannah and Ian. Neither of them knew who this Jim guy was. And why wasn't he here now? So many questions filled their minds, which made it harder to follow the conversation that started to pick up again.

"He almost did it, didn't he?" Syrus continued. "You said Jaden's eyes were back to normal for a bit before they turned gold again. What if we used the eye to break through to him again and-"

"I was already planning to do that, Sy. Then I'd have to try and talk some sense into him while the King is distracted."

"You might not have to do that," Syrus smirked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I think you should challenge the Supreme King to a duel and use the Eye of Orichalcum sometime during it. When you do, instead of talking to him like Jim did, why don't we bring out these two?"

Syrus was pointing to Hannah and Ian. Hannah looked at him, completely bewildered. Ian seemed to be thinking. The gang was also pondering what Syrus had suggested. Hannah decided to break the silence.

"Why? Why would you need us? We don't even know this guy," Hannah said truthfully.

"You know how you guys look like two of our other friends who're lost here? If Jaden sees you as Jesse and Alexis rather than, um…"

"Ian and Hannah," Ian supplied.

"Right. Well, if he sees them rather than you two, he may be able to break away from the King himself."

"That's not a bad plan," Aster mused.

Everyone started to nod in agreement. Syrus smiled at himself, proud of his ingenious plan **(1)**. Ian didn't seem to mind the idea either. He looked to Hannah who was still confused.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

All eyes turned on her at once. She blushed slightly.

"Well, could someone explain all that to me again?"

Everyone in the group sweatdropped.

"Did you listen at all?" Ian rolled his eyes exasperatedly.

"All I caught was that this guy named Jim gave you his eye, ewww, and that helps make this Jaden guy awake or something and you want us to talk to him while Axel is using the eye on him? Or was there a part with monkeys? I don't remember," Hannah replied.

"I see we've got a regular genius on our hands here," Zane muttered.

"Hey, I heard that! I'm just as smart as you are!" Hannah yelled.

"Really? You wanna bet on that?" Zane smiled wickedly, brandishing his duel disk.

Hannah glowered at him and went to pull out her duel disk but Ian stopped her. He grabbed her hand before she could whip the duel system out of her bag. She spun around and looked at him, anger evident on her face.

"Hannah, just calm down. It's not worth it," Ian soothed.

"Yeah, listen to your boyfriend and be a good little girl," Zane taunted.

Hannah faced the black clothed teen again, this time with a more severe expression on her face. It made Syrus, Aster, and Axel back up a few paces. Ian placed a hand on her shoulder and felt her muscles relax to his touch almost instantaneously.

"What's your damage?" Hannah finally spoke, eyes locked on Zane's.

"Impressive, Ian. I didn't know anyone could have that kind of control over an emotionally unstable girl."

"I would duel you right now if it weren't for the fact that you'd get sent to the stars. I'm pretty sure your _friends _wouldn't be too happy about that," Hannah said through clenched teeth.

"Hn, I'm not the one who'd get sent to the stars, Hannah."

Hannah looked like she was about to snap when she remembered something from Bastion's lab. She heard it in one of the group's lengthy discussions of the old days. She smirked. This would be a low blow.

"Even if you managed to defeat me, you still wouldn't have made it very far due to your…condition," she whispered so only she, Ian and Zane could hear.

Shock registered on his face for a fraction of a second before it disappeared. Zane's eyes narrowed, the grin wiped off his face. He spun on his heels and walked away. Syrus watched his brother leave with curiosity.

_What did she say to you, Zane? It seems to have struck a nerve. Is there something wrong with you? Big brother…_

**(A/N- what Hannah was talking about was Zane's heart problem thing, yeah.)**

"Wow. What did you do to piss him off?" Aster smiled at her.

"Oh, nothing really," Hannah said uncertainly as the silver haired duelist stepped towards her.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Hannah."

Aster beamed at her and took one of her hands in his. He kissed it, being the gentleman he was, before dropping it.

"Y-y-yeah, you t-too," she spluttered.

Aster began to follow his rival's path. He nodded towards Ian, showing that he acknowledged his presence as well. Ian glared at him once again, watching him retreat.

"Hey guys, we're not done yet. We haven't decided when we should do this!" Syrus yelled.

He ran after the Pro Duelists. Axel looked from him, to Hannah and Ian. He shrugged and opened his mouth to speak. Ian spoke up before he did though.

"Go ahead. We'll stick around here. If you need us, we'll be around."

With that, Ian turned around and began walking in the other direction. Hannah tagged along after him. Axel watched them go before going to catch up with his friends. Hannah looked up at Ian with a perplexed expression. He looked back down at her. This was the first time Hannah realized that he was slightly taller than her. Maybe four inches but still…

"What's up?" he asked when she didn't say anything.

"I was wondering why we're walking away."

He sighed. "Hannah, I think we're getting in too deep. I think we should leave all of this stuff alone. Who knows what we've done to the time stream? What if-"

"Do you trust me?"

"What?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Um, yeah. I guess I do. Why?"

"You see, I've got this feeling that-"

"Again with the feelings! Look, Hannah, using your gut in this type of situation is…"

"Is what? Wrong? Ian, have you ever felt like you just had to do something and you didn't know why? It just felt right, like you were meant to do it?"

"Well…"

"I bet you have. It's instinct. Don't you use it when dueling?"

"I use my head."

"Okay, Mr. Analytical. All I'm asking is for you to trust me. I just know we're supposed to help these guys. I don't know why but-"

"It just feels right."

"Yeah," she finished.

"Fine, but if it starts to get out of hand, we're leaving right away."

"Thank you!" Hannah grinned.

She hugged him and said thank you again. Ian blushed and mumbled a 'Your welcome'. She let go and looked up at him again, her smile fading. Ian stared with curiosity.

"Ian, we're completely alone right now. You think you can answer my question this time?"

Ian looked around and saw that the once crowded area was now completely bare. The people must have gone inside. He gulped. This was not what he wanted to talk about right now. Hannah was glaring at him as she waited for a response. He looked to the ground and nudged a small gray rock. Hannah exhaled through her nose, making a sharp noise. Her foot began to tap impatiently. After a minute, she stopped. Her arms, which were previously crossed, fell to her sides.

"Ian, when we first met, I thought you were boring."

He looked up at this comment but her eyes didn't meet him. Her brown gaze had also found the ground. She continued.

"You didn't really seem to be interested in anything and you were only being nice to me to be polite. Then, I dragged you into this dimension and I thought you were being a jerk. But the rain drove us into that cave and I realized that…"

Ian waited for her to finish. _What're you about to say, Hannah? Go on, keep talking, please! _He begged.

"…you were the nicest guy I've ever met. You were so open and you seemed to actually care about what I said. You even offered your jacket to me. Ian, I really appreciate you for sticking with me, for being so kind. And even though we only met hours ago…I feel extremely close to you, closer than I've ever been to a guy," she concluded, a slight blush on her face.

She glanced anxiously up at him. Ian was speechless. _Wait, is she trying to tell me that…she likes me? _His lack of dialogue made Hannah's expression change into one of anger.

"You just don't get it, do you?!" she yelled indignantly.

"Hannah," Ian finally croaked out.

He put his hands on her shoulders but she just shoved him away.

"Forget it, just leave me alone," she said, obviously hurt.

She stormed away from him, walking-or rather jogging- to the entryway they'd come out of earlier. Ian watched her go and realized that it hurt to do so. He began to run to catch up.

"Hannah, wait!"

Said girl didn't show a sign that she'd heard him. Ian rolled his eyes at her stubbornness. He caught her arm just as she was about to go through the doorway. She attempted to scowl at him as she leaned against the side of the opening.

"What?" she asked venomously.

"I'm sorry. I should've said something back there. It's just that I was so spaced out and-"

"Don't give me excuses, Ian."

"Okay then, how about a question?"

When she didn't respond, he figured it would be okay to continue. She looked at him expectantly, frown still on her face.

"When Zane was…taunting you, and he told you to listen to your 'boyfriend', why didn't you tell him we're not, you know…" he trailed off.

He watched her as her frown disappeared and her brows furrowed in thought. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, as if she was rethinking what she was about to say. Finally she spoke up.

"Well, I was all worked up and-"

"Don't give me excuses, Hannah," Ian mocked.

She was silent for another moment before saying, "I guess I didn't mind."

"Really?" he asked, taking a step closer to her.

"Yeah," she said quietly.

She went to glance up at him and was surprised to see him so close to her. She felt a blush surface as Ian began to close the gap between them. He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. Hannah felt her heart begin to race. Ian smiled at her as he bent his head to her level. Four inches, two inches, three centimeters. The distance between them was almost gone. They'd gotten about this far in the cave before Zora walked in. No one was going to interrupt this time. Except Axel.

"Come on you two, we're gonna head out soon!" he called from across the empty courtyard.

Ian started to pull away, looking discouraged. Hannah, however, had other plans. She grabbed the front of his shirt with both of her hands and pulled him towards her. Ian was quite startled by the sudden jerk forwards but was even more surprised when Hannah wrapped her arms around his neck and crashed her lips against his.

He reacted just as quickly by wrapping his arms around her waist. He pulled her closer to deepen the kiss. Hannah inwardly grinned. She let her fingers wander into his teal hair. They ran through it relentlessly, but Ian didn't seem to mind. In fact, he now only had one arm wound around her slim waist. His right hand stroked her cheek for a bit before coming to a rest at the side of her neck.

Hannah began to feel light headed and realized that she needed air. She unwillingly broke out of the passionate kiss and gasped for breath. Ian panted too but kissed her again on the top of the head. Hannah smiled at him, feeling her heart flutter as her eyes met his. His teeth gleamed even in the poor light.

"Wow," he breathed.

Hannah rested her head in the crook of his neck and sighed contently. She stayed like that for a minute, listening to his breathing. Then she smacked the back of his head **(2)**.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For taking so long!" Hannah replied as she straightened out of his embrace.

"I'm sorry for not being able to comprehend a girl's mind," he said sardonically.

"I suppose I can forgive you, for a price," she tantalized.

"What, another kiss?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

Their lips met again for a briefer moment. Still, it was enough to appease Hannah.

"Shall we go join the others?" she asked.

Ian took her hand in his before saying, "Let's go."

They walked to the group of their parents' friends hand in hand. They were ready to face the Supreme King.

**XXX**

**(1) This chapter is dedicated to ****Rose Tiger Maiden**** because they gave me the idea that Syrus suggested in the story. It also helped me think of what to write for this chapter so all hail ****Rose Tiger Maiden****! **

**(2) I hoped you liked this part, ****DarkestMagician****. I had Hannah smack Ian for ya. It wasn't with a paddle but, oh well. **

**Anyways, thanks for reading everybody. I'll update when I can. RxR!**


	10. Complications

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh! GX**

**XXX**

"Are we any closer, Bastion?" Jesse asked as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

The British scientist's face was grim as he shook his head. He was currently glaring at a computer screen, studying complex lines of codes.

"Sorry, but it seems as though we've only begun to scratch the surface. According to my calculations, as well as the computer readouts, Hannah and Ian weren't transported to the current Dark World."

"What do you mean?" Alexis inquired.

"Dark world is one of the seven dimensions that exist in this universe. Our dimension is as well. The machinery I have here in my lab allows me to scan all seven of them at once and-"

"Are you trying to say that, that neither Ian nor Hannah came up?" Jesse said horrified.

"Unfortunately, yes."

A collective gasp sounded through the room. Jesse was wringing his hands. Syrus, Atticus and Chazz shot each other worried glances. Alexis was in Jaden's embrace, on the verge of tears.

"They're not gone though," Bastion said, finally looking up from the screen. "There's still hope. I have a plan but…it's a bit risky. I don't know how long I can keep the portal generator running. However, I could send one of you in when it does open. They will have a small window of time to go through and find the kids."

"Then why don't we go right now?" Jesse asked impatiently.

"I don't have enough power to open the portal to begin with," Bastion sighed.

Suddenly, Jaden's face lit up. He let go of a bewildered Alexis and began to search for something on him. After a minute, he pulled out a ragged bundle from his back pocket. It was a deck case. He opened it and pulled out his deck.

"Remember how we strengthened the portal back on duel academy? We summoned our most powerful monsters. Bastion, do you think…"

Bastion caught on and his face brightened too.

"Of course! The duel energy! That may just be enough to do it! Brilliant work, my old friend."

Jaden smiled. _I'm just glad I've been able to help out. I mean, I've felt so helpless to these guys for years. I need to make it up to them all._

Bastion began to hustle about, attaching sensors and other techy stuff to his friends' duel disks. Alexis returned to Jaden's hold willingly. As she rested her head against his chest, she listened to his heart beat rhythmatically. _Soon, Hannah will be okay. Everything is going to work out. It has to. It just has to, _she thought. A quiet voice in her ear brought her back to reality.

"Lex, you ready?"

It was Jaden. She stood back from him and he handed her one of the modified duel disks. She took it and strapped it on to her left arm. Then, she pulled her deck out **(A/N- it's not weird that everyone in the GX gang carries around their decks and disks with them cuz, well, they duel a lot in their professions.) **and began looking through her monsters. She stopped on the one she chosen last time, all those years ago: Cyber Angel Benten.

"I'm ready," she nodded as she drew the card.

Everyone in the group had a card in their hand. Everyone, that is, except Jaden. He had two.

"You're not going with Neos?" Chazz wondered aloud.

"I'm not sure if I should use him or…Yubel."

Again, a collective gasp occurred.

"But Jay, isn't she evil?" Syrus accused.

"More like misunderstood, Sy. I trust her now."

"How can you trust-" Chazz began to yell but Alexis raised her hand to quiet him.

"If you trust her, I trust her, Jaden. Go ahead and use Yubel," she said meaningfully.

"Thanks, Lex," he beamed at her.

"If we're all done with the drama, we can start summoning," Bastion said as he tapped a few keys on the computer before him.

"Then let's do this!" Atticus cried. "Red Eyes Black Dragon, go!"

Syrus went next. "Super Vehicroid Stealth Union, rise!"

Chazz smirked before shouting, "XYZ Dragon Cannon!"

Alexis took a deep breath. "Let's go, Cyber Angel Benten!"

"Come forth, Water Dragon!" Bastion grinned.

Jesse and Jaden looked at each other before nodding and facing the portal.

"All right, come on out Rainbow Dragon!" Jesse yelled in his southern accent.

Six monsters stood before the small archway. The controllers looked to Jaden, waiting for him to summon the seventh. He looked down at the card. _Here's your chance to make things right, Yubel. _An approving noise came from the back of his mind. He sighed before placing the card down on his duel disk.

"I summon Yubel!" he bellowed.

"Attack!" everyone shouted simultaneously.

**Dark World…**

Axel, Aster, Zane, Syrus, Hannah and Ian were progressing down a worn dirt path. The King's castle could barely be seen on the horizon. They still had a long way to go. Small talk had disbanded after the first couple of minutes into the hike so it was silent jaunt to the castle. Aster was sulking in the front of the group, obviously dismayed that Ian was holding Hannah's hand. Zane was just a step ahead of him. Axel and Syrus were walking together too, leaving Hannah and Ian to make up the rear. Not that they minded.

Anyways, before I got off onto that tangent, I was saying how quiet it was. Well suddenly, a loud explosion rocked the canyon they'd entered just a minute ago. Rocks and other bits of debris dropped from the canyon walls. Miraculously, nothing hit any of the group members below. Said group looked up to see what had caused the damage. At the top of the canyon was a winged fiend. Its duel disk deactivated before it swooped down and landed in front of the teens.

As it touched down, the wind blew the adolescents backward. Most everyone fell to the ground. Hannah was the only one, surprisingly, who managed to keep her balance. The fiend smiled wickedly at her.

"Hello there, little girl. My, aren't you a pretty little thing?"

"Stay away from her!" Ian roared.

He was up on his feet in an instant. The rest of the group tensed for battle. Hannah just stood firm, not breaking eye contact with the monster.

"Ooh, I see I've got a warrior here," it hissed, turning its attention to Ian.

"Hey ugly, I've got as much fight in me as he does!" Hannah jeered.

"Really? Well, I guess I'll have to beat you both to see who's stronger," he responded, activating his duel disk.

"You'll have a try and get by me first, not that I'm going to let you. Let's do this!" she shouted, activating her disk as well.

"Hannah, no!" Ian exclaimed.

"I can take care of myself. You guys keep going. I'll catch up."

"We're not leaving anyone behind," Axel said firmly.

"Then I won't take long," Hannah said confidently.

She took out her red case, shuffled the cards and put the deck in her disk. She stared down the winged beast before her.

"You're about to get burned!"

"We'll see about that."

"Duel!"

**XXX**

**Short chappy, sorry. It's the best I could do in about an hour. I've got some researching to do before the next chapter so it'll be awhile, just a heads up. I apologize for not updating sooner but I've had preseason, work, summer homework, etc. I'll update when I can. RxR**


	11. At Risk?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh! GX**

**Cards are in bold. I do not own them; they're all real.**

**XXX**

"Duel!" Hannah and her opponent shouted.

"I'll go first!" Hannah decided.

She drew a card from her deck, meaning she now had six cards in her hand. Ian and the others looked on as she seemed to be calculating in her head. What she was calculating though, was a mystery. She frowned slightly but rearranged her face a second later.

"All right, I play this: **Dark Room of Nightmare**!" (card count: 5)

"What does that do?" the monster grumbled.

"You'll see right now! I also play the card **Meteor of Destruction**! You lose 1000 life points." (card count: 4)

"Aaaaaaaaaaargh! You'll pay for that!"

**Fiend: 3000**

**Hannah: 4000 **

"Now **Dark Room of Nightmare** takes effect. Every time you take damage that's not inflicted from battle, you lose an additional 300 life points."

"What?!"

**Fiend: 2700**

**Hannah: 4000**

"Are you keeping up with all of this? Hope you are 'cause I'm far from done!"

"You little brat! You're using a burn deck!"

"What part of 'you're gonna get burned' didn't you understand?"

The group chuckled at Hannah's banter. The monster scowled. He hated being made the fool, and by a child no less!

"I play **Pot of Greed**, so I can draw two cards," Hannah continued. (card count: 5)

"Next, I activate the magic card **Ookazi** which takes away 800 life points, not to mention the extra 300 added on by my Dark Room," she smiled. (card count: 4)

**Fiend: 1600**

**Hannah: 4000**

The fiend gasped and took a step backwards. He wasn't so sure about this duel anymore. But he had no choice. He couldn't back out of it, no matter what. The King would not be pleased with his poor performance. If only he could redeem himself somehow…

"Insolent child! You'll pay for this!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm not done yet."

"She's not?" Syrus questioned aloud.

"It's a burn deck. If you get the right hand, you can eliminate your opponent on the very first turn. If not…well, at least you'll lower their life points considerably," Zane replied.

"Yeah, but then you'd have no defense," Ian said worriedly.

"Not true. If Hannah's structured her deck right, she'll have a monster to fall back on," Aster smirked.

Ian glowered at him before returning to the duel.

"Time for another spell, **Hinotoma**. Can you guess what it does?" (card count: 3)

"I think I've got a good idea," the fiend paled.

"Five hundred plus three hundred equals another eight hundred points of damage for ya!"

The winged monster cringed as its life points hit 800. _There's no way I'm going to let this…this…child get away with this mockery. I'll bring her down with me if she turns me into stardust._

"I'm _sooooo _glad you can add. Now what else have you got to throw at me?"

"Oh, nothing at you. I'll just set a monster face down and call it good." (card count: 2)

"Hn, ran out of spells, I see. Well, I guess it's my turn to do some damage. I draw then summon my **Man-Eating Treasure Chest**. Attack her face down!"

The rounded, wooden box with sharp teeth launched itself at the facedown monster. It turned face up to reveal a blue bird made of wind. It was destroyed instantly.

"Ha! Your monster was no match for my Treasure chest."

"And you were no match for my monster," Hannah grinned.

"What?"

"You attacked **Stealth Bird**. He has a flip effect that-"

"You didn't flip summon it!"

"No, but you did when you attacked."

The monster gasped. His life points hit zero. He had lost.

"**Stealth Bird** does a thousand points of damaged when flip summoned. You go bye-bye," Hannah finished with a flourish.

The monster's outline began to shimmer with gold light.

"No! I have failed my King! You will pay with your life for this atrocity!" the fiend shouted.

It flung something in Hannah's direction before bursting into particles of light. Hannah stood where she was, not realizing what was headed for her. It hit the ground in front of her and she screamed. A plume of smoke enveloped her, shrouding her from the others' views.

"Hannah!" Ian shouted, running forward.

The smoke disappeared as quickly as it had erupted. Hannah lay on the ground, unmoving. Ian rushed forward and immediately checked her pulse. It was fine. She just seemed to be unconscious.

"Hannah. Hannah. Hannah!" Ian called as her tried to shake her awake.

It was a few tense minutes of waiting before she groaned softly, her eyelids shifting. She opened her eyes slowly and stared at Ian's frenzied expression.

"What happened?" she croaked, sitting up slightly.

Ian hovered over her as the rest of the group joined them.

"That THING threw something at you, there was smoke, and then you were passed out. Are you okay? I was so afraid… I, he said you'd pay with your life."

"I feel dizzy…and warm."

Ian placed a hand on her forehead and frowned.

"It feels like you've got a fever," he said quietly.

"That's impossible. Nothing can come on that fast," Axel stated.

"We need to move out. You two coming?" Zane asked.

He was already walking away. Syrus glanced at Hannah before running after his brother. Aster did the same. Axel paused.

"He's right. Are you-"

"Let's go," Hannah said weakly.

She got up shakily and leaned against Ian for support. He guided her forward towards the rest of the group.

"Are you sure you want to go? Maybe we should stay here; let you rest for a bit."

"Ian, I want to go. I need to. You know that," she whispered, not wanting Axel to overhear their conversation.

"If you say so," he answered wearily, hugging her closer to his side.

Hannah rested her head on his shoulder. She clutched his arm as if it were the only thing keeping her upright which, in truth, probably was. _What's happening to me? Was that smoke some sort of disease? Am I going to die? I can't. I won't. I've come too far; I'd lose too much. My mom, the father I'm looking for, Ian… _

A tear rolled down her cheek at these very thoughts. Ian wiped it away and made a face that clearly asked 'what's wrong?'. She shook her head at him to dismiss the matter. _If only I knew…_

**XXX**

**Okay, I deserve a lot of angry reviews for not updating in so long and even more angry reviews for posting such a short chapter. I apologize if this was a disappointment. I can't say when I'll be able to write again but I'm hoping for some more time this week or the next. No promises. Anyways, I hope you liked this short chapter (sorry!). Feel free to RxR. I'd appreciate it. **


	12. Heart2Heart

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh! GX**

**XXX**

A luminous flash, gasps, loud cheering, and being suddenly embraced. All of these details hit Alexis so fast, her head was spinning. She tried to deduce what must be happening around her for her face was buried in Jaden's chest. He was hugging her so tightly.

_The portal must have opened, _she thought. _That would explain the flash and cheering._

"Lex! Lex, it worked!" Jaden said excitedly, releasing her.

The blonde smiled up at him and looked to the bright, swirling vortex contained in Bastion's arch. Suddenly, everything seemed possible. Hannah was just on the other side. Alexis realized that her dream was about to become a reality. Once Hannah returned, they could be a family, a real family. She felt her eyes tear up in happiness. She met Jaden's eyes again and saw the same emotion surfacing in his chocolate orbs.

"All right!" Chazz yelled excitedly, pumping his fist in the air.

"Yeah, the portal's working!" Syrus said just as animated.

Bastion and Jesse smiled too. Nothing, it seemed, could bring down the mood of the people in the laboratory. There was a way to hinder it though.

"Who do we send?" Chazz asked abruptly.

The Gang froze. Who indeed should go to rescue the two teens trapped in the dark dimension? All eyes darted around the room, meeting each other before glancing away to another set. For the longest time, no one spoke. The hush could not last forever though. Jaden's voice splintered the stillness.

"I'll go."

"NO!" not one, but six voices roared.

"Jaden, you can't. You just got back. I can't lose you again," Alexis cried.

She refused to let go of him. Bastion, Chazz, Syrus, and Jesse finally understood why Hannah felt so strongly about finding her father; anyone would want to stop Alexis' suffering. Her pain was now tangible to everyone in the room. Sure, they'd all missed Jaden terribly. For Syrus, Atticus, and Jesse, it was like losing a brother. For Bastion and Chazz, it was like losing their closest friend and rival. But Alexis, she'd had the hardest time of them all: she'd lost the boy she'd fallen in love with, leaving her with a painful, empty bond and a fatherless daughter. There was no question about it; Jaden would not return to Dark World.

After all, how could any of them let him go now that their friend/brother/rival/lover had returned? The holes he left in their hearts were finally able to heal. Why would they let him go and risk re-opening those punctures? Call it selfish if you will, but the gang just couldn't let Jaden go now that he was in their lives again. They'd already been through too much pain to lose him again.

"Come on guys, I know where everything is in there. I mean, I was stuck in Dark World for sixteen years! I don't want to hurt any of you but let's think about this; I can get around quicker if I go."

"No, Jaden. Absolutely not. You can't-"

"Lex, think about it. I can rescue Hannah. We can be a family. It'll work out."

"How can you be so sure, Jaden? What if it doesn't work and you get lost again? I can't bear losing you and Hannah. My heart can't take any more pain."

Jaden felt extremely guilty._ Lex, what have I done to you? How could I put you through this torture? I'm supposed to protect you, not hurt you. Maybe you're right. Maybe someone else should go._

_**Jaden, no one else can navigate through Dark World like you can. We need to go. I can make sure the portal stays open while you retrieve your daughter and Jesse's son.**_

_But Yubel, what about Alexis? I can't leave her._

_**If she really loves you, she'll let you go. I'm letting you go.**_

_You're with me all the time, that's why you don't have a problem. If only Lex could be with me too. Bastion said he can only send one person though._

_**One person, eh? I'll be right back.**_

_Yubel? Yubel! Where did you go?_

Jaden felt Yubel's presence leave his mind. He saw her duel spirit float away from him and towards Alexis. The monster touched the woman's shoulder and evaporated. Alexis inhaled sharply before her face went totally blank. Even her eyes appeared to be dimmed and unfocused.

"Yubel, leave her alone!" Jaden snarled, shaking Alexis's motionless body.

Naturally, this caught everyone's attention. Jaden continued to yell at the spirit possessing Alexis while his friends tried to make sense of what was happening. Meanwhile, Alexis was utterly frightened, being trapped in her own mind while a duel monster who had tried to kill her 16 years ago stood before her.

_What're you doing here?!_ Alexis shrieked (mentally).

_**Calm down, I'm here to help you.**_

_Why would you help me?_

_**Because Jaden loves you. He feels guilty about all that he's put you through but you must understand why he needs to go.**_

_I know he's the logical choice but-_

_**But what? You selfish girl! You're saying you'd rather have Jaden than your daughter?**_

_What king of question is that? I love them both with all my heart!_

_**Then you will let him go. He is the only one who can save…Hannah.**_

_How do you know that? How do I know you're not lying?_

_**You trust Jaden don't you?**_

_Yes._

_**Then you can trust me. I do anything that will make Jaden safe and happy, and right now, he wants you to be happy. He wants you to be with him when he goes to Dark World.**_

_What? How? That's not possible._

_**It is if you listen to me. I can temporarily seal your soul into a card. Then you can give him the card and he can summon you once he gets into Dark World. It will be as if you're standing there with him. Where ever he goes, you go.**_

_You can do that? I don't know. _

_**You need to trust me.**_

_Okay._

_**Stand still and I'll put the spell on you after you give him the card.**_

_I understand. Anything else?_

_**Convince the others to let him go too. Good luck with that.**_

Alexis saw the monster disappear. She felt herself stirring. Had she fallen asleep? She blinked her eyes and found Jaden staring at her. She laughed at his confused expression. The gang was crowded around the two. Alexis remembered her mission.

"Jaden, you have to go," she said seriously.

"What? I thought you wanted me to stay. Lex, I don't understand."

"I know you can do it, Jaden. You're right; you know your way around the dimension. You've got the best chance."

"What did Yubel do to you?" he said worriedly.

"Nothing, now listen to me!"

"She's possessing you, Alexis. Don't let her talk for you."

"No one is controlling me, Jaden. Yubel only wanted to talk with me. Now I understand-"

"Lex, I can't hurt you again. Or anyone for that matter."

"I have faith in you and everyone else should too."

Chazz spoke at that moment to speak up. "Of course we've got faith in the slacker, don't we guys?"

The rest of the gang nodded in agreement. Alexis gave the pro-duelist a genuine smile.

"I suppose…we could…manage," Bastion struggled.

"Yeah, go bring our kids back, partner," Jesse beamed, clapping his friend on the back.

"Just be careful, Jay," Syrus added.

"Yeah, you've got to come back in one piece for the wedding, after all!" Atticus chimed.

Jaden and Alexis blushed simultaneously. They hadn't realized he'd heard their discussion earlier that day.

"You're all sure about this?"

Everyone nodded.

"Lex, you're sure?"

"Yes."

"All right, here I go."

"Wait, Jaden," Alexis said.

She hugged him and kissed his cheek. He kissed her back on the lips.

"Be safe, and take this," she said as she held out a card.

Jaden took it and examined it. "Cyber Tutu?"

"Summon it on the other side. Then you'll understand."

"Okay, I'll be back soon."

"Try and hurry, Jaden. I don't know how long the portal can remain open. Good luck to you, my friend," Bastion said.

Jaden acknowledged his comment and stepped before the portal.

_Ready Yubel?_

_**Ready.**_

_Here goes something._

Jaden Yuki stepped into the portal and vanished from the time stream. He was on his way to his dark past to bring about a brighter future.


	13. Alternate Dethroning

Hannah shot it an irritable look before getting up and dusting herself off

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh! GX.**

**I'm going to try and update at least once a week. RECAP: Jaden has just gone into Dark World. Hannah has come down with a mysterious illness. She is heading to face the Supreme King with Zane, Aster, Axel, Syrus, and Ian.**

**XXX**

Jaden felt his feet hit sand a moment later. He opened his eyes and looked around. _Yep, definitely Dark World. Hmm, the comet's still there. I thought that went away after…oh, right. I'm in the past. _

He got his bearings and then remembered what Alexis had told him: _**"Summon it on the other side. Then you'll understand."**_

He looked at the card in question. Without hesitation, he activated his duel disk and summoned Cyber Tutu. The air in front of him began to shimmer with light. He could make out a vague outline of the monster but it was indefinite and fragile, like it could be blown away by a sudden wind. _What's going on? It never takes this long for a monster to be summoned._

**Meanwhile, in the Lab…**

"God Speed, Jaden," Bastion whispered.

The gang was waiting anxiously around the portal. They were staring into it, all hoping that their brunette friend would return safely with the children. Atticus had an arm around his sister, afraid she might change her mind about letting Jaden go and try to do something rash. After a moment though, Alexis gasped. She shuddered and slumped against her brother's shoulder.

"Lexi! Are you okay? Speak to me, Sis!"

"Atti, I'll be fine. I prom…ise."

Her eyes closed and Atticus held her to prevent her from falling. The rest of the guys watched with concern. _What the hell just happened? _Atticus wondered. _Maybe Yubel has something to do with this. That would explain Jaden's yelling earlier. Guess I'll just have to wait._

**Back in Dark World…**

Jaden watched in amazement as the profile of Cyber Tutu burst into view. She dropped to the ground and Jaden ran to her. He noticed her hair was longer and blonde rather than short and pink, like on the card.

"Er, Cyber Tutu? You all right?"

"Jaden?" the girl asked groggily.

"Okay, how do you know my name?"

"Jaden, it's me!"

"Alexis?! How? I don't understand."

Jaden looked at her, confused. There was his girlfriend right before his eyes, dressed like Cyber Tutu. She stood up and dusted herself off. Jaden reached forward and touched her cheek. Once he realized she wasn't going to suddenly disappear on him, he hugged her. She blushed.

"It was Yubel's idea. She knew I'd feel better if I could go with you," Alexis explained.

"I'm…kinda glad she came up with this plan," Jaden admitted.

"So, where to now?"

"Oh, right. Well, we could head to the…"

"The what? Jaden, what?"

Jaden shuddered at the location he thought of. _The coliseum. How could I look there after everything that happened there? How could I take Lex there? That's where I-I betrayed her. But what if Hannah's there?_

He felt comforting hands on his shoulders and looked up into Alexis's peaceful expression. She smiled sadly at him.

"Jaden, if you're thinking about what happened here when we were kids-"

"Lex, I'm so sorry! I betrayed you and our friends. I shouldn't have rushed into that duel like I did! I-"

Alexis pressed a finger to his lips and waited for him to calm down. He sighed and she dropped her finger. Jaden waited for her to speak.

"Jaden, it's not your fault. We chose to follow you here and it was our fault we got caught. I shouldn't have snapped at you and I've regretted saying that all this time. Please, let's just find Hannah and Ian and get out of here."

"Okay," he agreed seriously. "Let's go."

**With Hannah and Ian…**

Ian and Hannah walked in the shadows quietly while the rest of the posse walked under the light of the comet. They reached the bridge to the King's castle a few seconds later. Axel motioned for Ian and Hanna to stop while everyone else continued forward. He walked across the bridge alone where the Supreme King was waiting for him.

After a brief exchange, Axel challenged the King to a duel. He, of course, accepted. The two activated their respective duel disks and began. **(A/N- This duel is the same as the one in the episode.) **Axel and the Supreme King stared each other down before taking their respective turns. Zane, Aster, and Syrus watched the tense duel while Ian watched over Hannah. She seemed to be growing worse by the minute.

"Hannah, why don't you sit down? You look tired."

"Hmm, no. I'm f-f-fine," she tried to assure him.

He pressed a hand to her forehead. It was scorching beneath his touch. He looked at her with concern. She gave him a weak smile.

"Okay, I'll sit down if it'll make you feel better," she whispered, not wanting him to be worried.

He sat down with her and let her rest her head on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her waist to comfort her. Her eyes closed and she snuggled into the crook of his neck before dozing off. Ian could only watch her and hope that whatever was overcoming her would go away without consequence. It was quiet for a minute, the only sound coming from the duel and Hannah's deep breathing.

Suddenly, there was an explosion. A monster had just been destroyed in the duel. Hannah jerked awake and coughed. She clutched her throat with one hand while she buried her face in her arm. She broke out into a coughing fit and trembled in Ian's embrace. Syrus and Aster shot nervous glances over at her while Zane seemed not to notice.

Axel glanced at her too and decided it was time to put his plan in action.

"Jaden," he called to his lost friend. "I know you're in there somewhere. You gotta listen to me. You gotta snap out of this. Don't let the Supreme King control you!"

"Heh, pathetic. Nothing you can do can save Jaden from me," the King laughed.

"Oh yeah? What about your friends Jaden? What about Jesse? Or Alexis? Or any of them? Did you really forget them?"

"Stop trying to get to him. Jaden's gone, just like his friends!"

"Really? Why don't we have some people join us then," Axel said, turning to where Ian and Hannah sat concealed in the shadows.

By now, she'd stopped coughing. Hannah found the strength to get up and walk out towards the bridge with Ian at her side. Axel turned back to the Supreme King and observed his face. Shock was the most prominent in his golden eyes but his face was twisted into a scowl.

"That's not possible! They've been sent to the stars!" the King snarled.

"And yet here they stand. You recognize them, Jaden. It's Jesse and Alexis, your friends," Axel said convincingly.

His tone was confident and nothing gave his bluff away. The black armored king stared at the two in amazement. His golden eyes seemed to flicker for a moment. Then he shook his head and smirked evilly. He stared back at Axel.

"You can't fool me! I know the truth! This is just some sort of trick to distract me from the duel. Well, it's not going to work. I draw," the Supreme King said.

_Why isn't this working? Jaden should be able to break away from the King now. I mean, we've got 'Jesse', whom he was desperately looking for, and Alexis. We __**all**__ know how much she means to him. I just don't get it. What's missing? _Axel thought.

Suddenly, Hannah coughed again. Unlike last time though, blood began to dribble from her mouth and down her chin. She dropped to her knees and let out a cry of pain. Ian was at her side instantly. Everyone else looked at her with horror.

"Alexis! Noooooooooo!" replied an earth shattering shout from across the bridge.

Axel and Zane regarded the King with surprise. His eyes were no longer the terrifying gold but chocolate brown. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. Jaden was back. Aster took a fleeting look at the Slifer and saw him rip the dark helmet off his head and cast it aside.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing?" one of the monsters watching the duel growled.

"My liege, you must put your helmet back on so you can rule," whispered another.

Their former leader ignored them and ran down the bridge towards his real friends, shedding his armor as he went. Jaden was just about to pass Axel when the brawny boy stopped him. He met Axel's serious gaze with one of concern. Still, he did not let Jaden pass.

"I need to see if Alexis is okay!" Jaden shouted indignantly.

"Jaden, that's not Alexis."

"I can see with my own two eyes that it's-"

"Look at her face, Jaden. She's just another girl stuck here. We thought you might snap out of your, um, dark trance if you believed she was Alexis."

"What?!"

The brunette studied the girl's face and took a step back, shocked. It wasn't the girl he'd fallen in love with but the similarities were striking. Jaden hung his head, tears still streaming down his face.

"So she's still gone? Jim, Hassleberry, Atticus, and Chazz too?" he cried.

Axel jumped at the tone he used, afraid that Jaden was about to turn back into the King. He answered the boy's question cautiously, not wanting to trigger a reaction.

"They are gone, but Jaden, listen to me. Your friends need you now. We need you. You can help us find Jesse. You can get a chance to make everything right."

"Ha, friends? Who would want to be my friend after all the stuff I've pulled?" he said sourly.

"Jaden, get yourself together. WE ALL NEED YOU. Stop moping."

"That's easy for you to say, Axel! You didn't send our friends away! How could anyone ever forgive what I've done? They trusted me and I-"

"Stop it, Jaden!" Syrus yelled. "Don't you dare say you've let us down."

"Then what, Sy? I failed."

"Where's my best friend? He would never say that."

"I don't know…" Jaden trailed off.

It was silent for a moment. Then, a softer voice spoke up.

"Your friends, they're sorry, Jaden. Hassleberry, Chazz, Atticus, Alexis- they all wish they hadn't yelled at you. They're okay, Jaden. They're alive. Just not…here," Hannah said, standing up gingerly.

Ian kept her upright. His eyes were only focused on her face. He probably hadn't even heard a word she said. He noticed the line of blood dribbling down her chin hadn't stopped yet.

"How do you know?" Jaden asked, meeting the strange girl's eyes.

"Because I'm, er, well, I saw them when we were transported here. They're somewhere else, not in Dark World."

"Really?"

Hope flooded his eyes. Zane and Aster looked at Hannah with suspicion now. How could a stranger know where their friends were? She had to be lying. They weren't about to crush Jaden, though. The pro-duelists remained silent.

"Yes, ngh," Hannah doubled over, wrapping her arms around her rib cage.

Ian crouched down to her with pain in his eyes. He felt helpless, just watching her be tortured like this. He decided it was time to head back to the portal.

**(A/N- I didn't make this really clear before but after Hannah and Ian left with Zora, their portal closed, so they didn't know they had no way to get back home. But then the Gang opened a new portal to sent Jaden through. Yubel is currently watching it to make sure it remains open, as she said she would last chapter. That's all.)**

"I'm sorry but I've got to take her back to the base. Maybe someone can treat her there," Ian said sharply, looking to the group members.

"We understand," Axel nodded.

Ian picked up Hannah and carried her bridal-style. She moaned but didn't put up a fight. They left the others teenagers as Ian hurried away from the castle. It wasn't long before he reached the sand of the expansive desert. His plan was to walk back to the castle and have Zora lead him back to where they first met. So, he followed the foot prints they'd left behind earlier.

After awhile though, he got tired and had to set Hannah down. She was either asleep or unconscious. He hoped it was the initial one. Things didn't look good. Hannah's shallow breathing concerned him. It was fainter than ever and, though the blood flow from her mouth had stopped and coagulated, a sickening gurgling noise was resonating from her lungs.

Ian was determined though. _You will not die on me, Hannah Rhodes. You've become too close to me to let that happen._

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden voice.

"Look over there! I see two kids. Is it them?" a masculine voice asked.

Ian couldn't tell where the voice was coming from. He looked around everywhere and saw two silhouettes approaching in the distance. The comet light seemed to fade from the sky but the figures still came towards him.

"Who are you?" he called out hesitantly when the strangers were no more than few yards away.

"Ian, is that you?" a feminine voice called.

He didn't recognize it, but it sounded friendly enough. He stepped forward to meet the visitors.

**XXX**

**I'm so glad I finished this chapter. I've been working on it all week because the first time I wrote it, it was absolute crap. Hopefully you all enjoyed it. I have more time to write now that my fall sport is over so I'll TRY and update more often. Please Read and Review because I am grateful for you comments/suggestions/etc. Thanks!**


	14. Following the Future

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh! GX**

**XXX**

Jaden and Alexis were trudging through the sand, searching for signs of life. They'd been walking towards the coliseum but decided to change course when they saw a set of footprints- human footprints- leading away towards the north. Wordlessly and without hesitation, they switched to the trail.

"I think we're on to them, Jaden. This may be it," Alexis smiled.

"I think so too, Lex," he beamed back.

"You don't know how much I've missed that smile."

"Not as much as I've missed you," he replied, wrapping an arm around her waist.

She giggled and leaned against him. He brushed his lips across her forehead. Both were happy to have found each other again. Neither one could be any happier than they were at that moment.

"Hey, Jaden?"

"Yeah, Lex?"

"About what Atticus said…y'know, the wedding?"

"Mhm."

"Well, I…I don't know. Don't get me wrong; I love you with all my heart. It's just that, it sounds so soon. I-we- never got a chance to, well, date. I mean, I want to marry you, but…"

"Lex, I'm not sure I can agree with you."

She froze and looked up at him in horror. He laughed at her reaction.

"What I mean to say is… I think we kinda were dating all along back at the Academy. I mean, we hung out all the time."

"That was when we were friends."

"I dunno, I always felt like you were more than that. That's why I couldn't stay away. In a sense, I couldn't wait for our next 'date'."

"Okay, okay. I guess that counts," she laughed. "I felt that way too, actually."

He laughed back.

"Lex, whenever you're ready to settle down, I'm ready. I don't care if that's five years from now, just as long as we're together."

**(A/N- Bleck! I can't believe I just wrote that terribly lovey-dovey line. Too much romance! Too much! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Sorry 'bout that, I'm fine now. Ignoring her random outburst, winkytwinky15 continues with the story. 3****rd**** Person. Yayz!)**

"Thanks, Jay. That means a lot to me."

"You're welcome, Lexi."

"You added an i to the end of my nickname? Who are you, Atticus?"

"Would you prefer me to call you by your full name?"

"No, it's just that you've never said it that way before. It sounds nice."

"Oh, okay then."

Jaden and Alexis continued to chat idly, following the foot prints before them. Alexis described how their friends were doing and answered all of Jaden's questions about what he'd missed over the years. She told him about Mindy and Harrington's marriage and their son, Harrington Jr. She also told him about how Chazz and Jasmine had finally discovered their feelings for each other and ended up dating while Chazz was in the Pros.

She also told him about what it had been like for her after school: how she'd managed to balance college, a job, and being a single mom to Hannah. Apparently she'd had loads of help from Atticus, which was oddly uncomforting for Jaden to hear.

"He didn't drop her on her head or anything, did he?" he worried.

"No. He can be very responsible sometimes, though once she turned five, I had to find a different baby-sitter."

"Why?"

"I came home one night and they were both jumping up and down on the bed, completely hyped up on sugar."

"Oh jeez, that sounds exactly like the Atticus I remember."

"Yeah. I owe him a lot though. He really helped me get through everything."

"Lex, I'm sorry. I left you to fend for yourself. I feel so-"

"Jaden, we've been through this before. It's not your fault. Besides, the past is behind us. What's done is done. All we can do is live in the now and look to the future."

To Alexis, truer words had never been spoken. All that she cared about at the moment was Jaden at her side and the prospect of finding her daughter. But Hannah and Ian knew the truth. The past was not behind them. They had altered the reality they'd come from and did not know what the present would be like once they returned. How could they look to the future when they didn't know if they'd even exist? Hannah, who was vaguely aware that Ian was carrying her, thought her actions through again and again, not sure she should've tried to change the past.

_What've I done? What if dad doesn't come back? What if mom doesn't have me? Or worse, what if Ian isn't born? How could I jeopardize his life like that? And even if we do still exist, will we still know each other? Will I still feel the same way about him? Or will we forget each other? I can't believe I could be so selfish and drag him into this. I'm so stupid! I left my poor mom all by herself; the worst thing I could've done to her! Selfish! Selfish! Selfish! _

"I gotcha, Hannah. Just rest. Everything will be fine," Ian soothed her.

_How do you know that, Ian? I've screwed everything up. Nothing's going to be fine. Don't you understand what I've done? Don't you realize the risk I've taken? I'm so sorry! Damn it! I deserve whatever that monster did to me. I deserve to suffer!_

"Hannah, please be okay. Please," she heard Ian plead.

_I guess no matter what I do, I can't make everyone happy. So how can I make things right? I guess I'll just have to wait and see how everything plays out. Maybe the future will be brighter, as I intended. I can only hope so._

**Back with Jaden and Alexis…**

The footprints the two adults were following were less spaced out than they were originally. Who ever they were following was slowing down. It was only a matter of time before they ran into each other. Jaden and Alexis were walking to the top of a hill at the moment. When they reached the top, Alexis paused to rest. Jaden waited patiently for her.

He stared off into the distance, hoping to catch a glimpse of however they were following. At first, he saw nothing. Suddenly, a flicker of motion caught his attention. He could barely make out two shadowy figures ahead but they were definitely there.

"Look over there!" he shouted excitedly. "I see two kids. Is it them?"

Alexis squinted to where he was pointing. She took a step back, shocked. Did they finally find Hannah and Ian?

"Who are you?" they heard a youthful voice ask.

Jaden and Alexis were running towards the figures now.

"Ian, is that you?" Alexis called.

They saw one figure start to approach them.

_Time to find out who these people are,_ Ian, Alexis, and Jaden thought.


	15. The Gang Reunites!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh! GX**

**Sorry, I underestimated my homework and I've just finished up three projects. Enough with the excuses, let's get back to the story!**

**XXX**

**Bastion's Lab…**

"How long has she been out?" Atticus asked worriedly, hovering over his sister.

"About fifteen minutes. Don't worry, Atticus. The stress of the situation was probably too much for her. Maybe it's a good thing she's resting right now," Bastion replied.

"Resting? Resting?! She randomly fainted! I don't call that resting! I-"

"Calm down. You need to relax," Jesse said, trying to help.

Atticus was about to yell something when Jesse held a hand up. He pulled a vibrating phone from his pocket, pushed a button, and held it to his ear.

"Hello? Ah, Amelia. Listen, I've gotta tell you someth-"

"No! You listen to me, Jesse Anderson! You were supposed to come home an hour ago! It's past Ian's curfew, too."

"Honey, listen. I c-can explain," Jesse pleaded.

Chazz and Syrus snickered behind him. He shot them a venomous glare before returning to the conversation with his wife.

"Oh, I'm _**sure**_ you have a _**wonderful**_ explanation!"

"I do! I really do! You see, um, Ian's a bit disposed at the moment but-"

"Disposed? What's he doing? Tell me!"

"He's trapped in another dimension like I was back in school and we're trying to get him back," Jesse explained in a rush. "Amelia?"

"…"

"Hun, you okay?"

"…"

"Say something."

"That's it! I'm coming over right now!"

"Is that completely necessary?"

"Hell yeah it is! My poor baby! This is the last time I let you two go anywhere by yourselves," Amelia roared.

Jesse heard a door slam in the background of the call, followed by a snarling car engine. He gulped at the thought of his pissed off wife driving through the city. He had to reason with her.

"Amelia, hun, maybe you should relax before you get behind the wheel."

"And maybe you should hide your ass before I get there to kick it!"

"You know you don't mean that."

"Fine! But don't think you're getting out of this one, Jesse!"

The line went dead and Jesse sighed. The other guys stared at him as he slipped his cell phone back into his pocket. He ran a hand through his hair before leaning against the wall for support.

"Some wife ya got there, Anderson," Chazz smirked.

"Cut it out, Chazz. She's the love of ma life! Besides, I deserve all that hollerin' for not tellin' her about all this," Jesse said defensively.

"Man, you're whipped!" Chazz laughed again.

Jesse scowled at him and mumbled, "Am not."

Karma came to Jesse's aid at that moment. Chazz's phone rang from his back pocket. He glanced at the caller ID and glowered at Jesse. _Of course she had to call now, of all times. Guess this is what I get for teasing Anderson. _

"Hey Jazz," Chazz answered.

"Oh Chazzy, where are you? I thought you'd be home by now. We've got those dinner reservations, you know," Jasmine whined on the other end.

"Chazzy? Is that your pet name?" Syrus teased.

"Shut up, squirt!"

"Charles Xavier Princeton! That is no way to speak to your wife!" Jazz exclaimed hurtfully.

"No, no, no! Jazz, I w-was just picking on Syrus not-"

"Well you shouldn't treat him that way either! He IS your friend."

"Look, babe, I've been held up. I was just about to leave when these kids showed up, then there was this portal and then Jaden came and Alexis fainting and-"

"Jaden?! Alexis? Why didn't you call me sooner?!"

"But I didn't call you."

"Exactly! Oh my, I have to call Mindy and Blair and Aster and Zane and- look, sweety, I've got to go but I'll be there in a bit, don't you worry!"

"Jazz, what're you- she hung up, great."

"Who's whipped now, _Chazzy_?" Jesse chuckled.

"Grrrr, shut up."

"So, Syrus, are you next? Or how about you, Atticus?" Bastion joked.

"Nope."

"Not me," Syrus said in a neutral voice.

"Didn't you and Blair get hitched a while back though?" Atticus inquired.

"Yeah but it sounds like Jasmine's got it covered."

"Hey, refer to her as Mrs. Princeton, shrimp!" Chazz snapped.

"Ouch, Chazzy, that hurt!" Syrus mocked.

"Why I oughta-"

"Just like the good ol' days, right Bastion?" Atticus asked, slinging an arm around the Brit's neck.

"As I recall, you wedded with a young woman yourself, Atticus. Is there a particular reason she won't be calling you?"

"Yeah, Christine and I had a fight and she kicked me out."

"That's funny. I thought you'd end up with Mel **(see my other fanfic: Flavor of the Week).**"

"We split up when we decided to go our 'different ways' in the music industry. I haven't talked to her since."

"I'm sorry to hear that. You two got along so well."

"I thought so too," he said sadly. "But I'm married to Chrissy now and I've got the ultimate plan to fix our relationship! Wanna hear it?"

"Um, as delightful as that would be, I'm afraid we won't be able to hear your ideas."

"Why's that, buddy?"

"I believe Mrs. Anderson has arrived," Bastion whispered gravely.

A moment later, the door exploded off its hinges and clattered against the back wall of the laboratory. An enraged looking woman with a vein throbbing on her forehead stormed inside and walked up to Jesse.

"Hey honey."

"Don't you 'hey honey' me! You're in big trouble!"

"Can we discuss this outside? Everyone's watching."

"Oh I'm sorry. Am I embarrassing you in front of your friends? Am I…" she went on ranting.

Jesse stood there helplessly as the others could only watch. His mouth opened a couple of times to speak but Amelia's wrath was still blowing full force and he was cut off every time. Bastion decided to intervene.

"Ma'am, if I may interrupt for a moment, I'd like to say that it wasn't your husband's fault that your son is in Dark World. It's mine."

"Excuse me?" the lavender haired woman asked, rounding on the scientist.

"You see, it was my portal he fell through. He was trying to stop a girl from jumping in and he…sort of…fell in with her. He was being responsible, like I should've been. I should have kept a closer eye on her and I'm sorry your son had to pay for my mistake. But I can assure you, he's all right. We've already sent a person to get him and the girl. It's only a matter of time before they return."

"So this girl is responsible for my little boy's disappearance."

"Hey, don't you talk about my niece that way!" Atticus shouted.

"You stay out of this, pretty boy!"

"Ms. Anderson, please. Getting worked up over the situation isn't going to help. Why don't we leave so you can discuss the matter with your husband, okay?"

"Thank you, Doctor. That's very generous of you," Amelia replied with a quiet, more sincere tone.

Bastion, Chazz, and Syrus left right away while Atticus set his sister down in the chair behind the doctor's desk. Then he left too. The guys listened to the murmured conversation from outside in the hall. Before long, it was completely silent. Chazz opened the door and gasped before closing the door.

"Chazz, what's going on in there?"

"Well, they're done discussing," he said wryly.

"Huh?" Bastion wondered, opening the door for himself and looking in.

Jesse was 'occupied' at the moment. He and Amelia were making out when the guys entered the room quietly. Their southern friend's arms were wrapped tightly around his wife's waist. Her hands were massaging his neck until one slipped under Jesse's shirt.

"Ahem, may I remind you two that this is MY office?" Bastion smirked.

"Sorry," they both said, blushing, though neither moved from their awkward embrace.

"Quite all right. We're all adults here," Bastion replied. "It may be more helpful though if we stay focused on the task at hand, not personal things."

"Agreed," Jesse and Amelia said in unison.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Many voices could be heard from outside. _I wonder who that could be, and so late at night? _Bastion opened the door and saw the rest of the GX Gang standing outside his door. He let them in without hesitation. Aster, Zane, Axel, Jim, Mindy, Jasmine, and Blair filed past him into the room, all saying a greeting as they did so.

"I hope this room doesn't have an occupancy limit, Bastion," Aster joked.

"Don't worry, Aster, I've had loads more people in here before. Granted they were all colleagues working on some formulas… but nevertheless, welcome!"

"Tell us, Bastion, what's going on here? I was trying to get some sleep when Jasmine called me, saying something about Jaden."

"Well, I suppose I should just tell you since you're all here now. Jaden's back."

Everyone in the room who hadn't already known gasped. Except for Zane. He had a mildly surprised look on his face for a second before it went blank again. Blair squeezed Syrus's hand and beamed at him. Axel, Jim, and Aster talked animatedly about the surprising information. Mindy and Jasmine were jumping up and down in excitement when their faces froze.

"Wait, where's Lexi?" they asked.

Atticus pointed to the doctor's chair where she was still passed out. She had a smile on her face and a hand over her heart. Her friends smiled at her, including Zane. Then he turned his attention back to Bastion.

"Where's Jaden? I thought you said he was back."

"Is he down in the cafeteria?" Aster kidded.

"Well, he went back into Dark World but this time, he's coming back without a hitch."

"WHAT?!" everyone yelled.

"He comes back and you send him away again?" Mindy shrieked.

She glanced at Alexis out of the corner of her eye. Jazz did the same.

"It's a bit of a long story."

"We're already here," Zane pointed out.

"Are you sure you want me to prattle on about it?"

"What else have we got to do, mate?" Jim grinned.

"All right then, it all started early this afternoon…"

**XXX**

**Hey guys, I'm back! Hope you're not too mad at me for drawing out the meeting of Hannah and Jaden. I'll get to it eventually, don't worry! I just wanted to let you all know that there's going to be five more chapters after this one for a total of 20 chapters. The last two are going to be in POVs of certain characters. Also, I want to try and get 100 reviews by the end of the story because it's a lifelong goal of mine! (Note: I don't mean one person reviewing like 20 times in a row). So if you could Read and Review, that would be much appreciated. Hope you liked the chapter and have a good day!**


	16. Family Bonds

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX**

**Happy (late) Holidays Everyone! 4 chapters left after this!**

**XXX**

"…and then that's when you all showed up," Bastion finished. He was practically breathless.

Zane, Axel, and Aster nodded in understanding. Syrus, Atticus, Jesse, and Chazz looked relieved that the tale was over. Amelia was in Jesse's embrace. Mindy and Jasmine were trying to revive Alexis but weren't having any luck in doing so. The blonde duelist still had a smile on her face though. Meanwhile, Jim was trying to explain the occurrence to Shirley, who was curled beside her master's feet, and Blair was jumping up and down excitedly, thinking _Jaden's coming back! Jaden's coming __**back**__!!! _

**(A/N- Blair doesn't have a crush on Jaden anymore, she's just happy that her friend is back.)**

"So, when will Jaden come back through the portal?" Zane asked.

Bastion frowned. "I'm afraid I don't know. All I do know is that he has to relatively soon or he'll be trapped until I can open another portal. If I do, that will cause the time-space continuum to fluctuate and may end up causing a rift between the dimensions."

"That sounds bad," Atticus commented.

"Very bad indeed. Who knows what could happen?" Bastion agreed.

"So I suppose the only thing we can do is wait," Aster remarked.

"Looks like it," Jim nodded.

So the reunited gang sat back and waited for the return of their goofy, knuckle headed Slifer.

**Dark World…**

"Who's there? How do you know my name?" Ian asked the rapidly approaching strangers.

They were just a few yards away and as far as Ian could tell, they looked human. He waited anxiously, duel disk at the ready in case of an attack. Then, two people emerged in front of him. He sighed with relief when he realized it was indeed a couple of humans; a man and a woman. He kept his duel disk out though.

"Who are you?" he asked again.

"Whoa there, tough guy. We're here to rescue you," the man with orangey-brown hair beamed.

"You didn't answer my question," Ian pressed.

"I'm Alexis Rhodes and this is Jaden Yuki," the blonde woman replied.

Ian's eyes widened and then he lowered his duel disk. He recognized the similarity between the lady and- Hannah!

"You've g-got to help m-m-me. Hannah's in bad sh-shape. I d-don't know what happened," he stuttered.

Alexis's eyes filled with worry. Jaden squeezed her hand in understanding.

"Where is she?" Alexis barely managed to whisper.

"Behind me. She was dueling this guy when-"

Jaden and Alexis ignored his explanation and rushed past him. Ian followed after they blew by. He knelt down next to the two adults and looked at Hannah's practically motionless body. Alexis stifled a sob.

"Hannah," she choked. "Oh, Hannah."

Jaden looked at the daughter he'd never met before and then back at his suffering girlfriend. He drew her to him and she buried her face into his chest. He felt her tears soak through his shirt. The Slifer turned his gaze upon Jesse's son and was surprised to see pain in his eyes as well, as if the boy had some sort of emotional connection to Hannah, not just concern for another human being. Jaden suddenly felt jealousy bubble up inside of him.

_How dare he look at her that way! He has no right to look at MY daughter that way! _Jaden thought angrily.

Alexis felt Jaden's body stiffen and peered up at him, tears still running down her cheeks. She saw him glaring dangerously at Ian. She glanced at Ian and caught a glimpse of something in his eyes. She'd seen that look in Jaden's eyes before, only this glimmer of feeling was nowhere near the passion in Jaden's eyes.

_There's no way that Ian could possibly…? No, certainly not. He couldn't-they couldn't have fallen for each other that fast, could they? The way he looks at her…it's like he loves her. _Jaden and Alexis shared this thought.

_Jaden. He's trying to be protective. Heh, _Alexis thought bitterly. Had they been in less severe situation, Alexis would've laughed at Jaden's 'protective father' mode. Now was not the time though.

"Ian, what happened to her?" Alexis rasped. She'd nearly lost her voice.

"She was dueling this monster and she won. He threw something at her and it exploded. There was smoke everywhere; I couldn't see a thing. When it cleared, she was knocked out."

"What were her symptoms?" Jaden snapped.

Alexis put a hand against his chest to try and calm him. Ian wasn't to blame for Hannah's state after all.

"She was really weak after that. I had to help carry her."

"Of course you did," Jaden muttered.

Alexis elbowed him in the ribs. He grimaced.

"She had a fever. Oh, and she started coughing up…blood," Ian shuddered.

Alexis frowned. Jaden's face dawned with realization. "I know what's happened to her. I can't believe that I'm responsible for all of this. I should've known better!"

"Jaden, what are you talking about? How can this be your fault?" Alexis wondered aloud.

"Hannah has inhaled a deadly gas that targets the respiration system in the body. Once it enters your lungs, the gas molecules start to shred anything they bump into. The esophagus and lung linings start to bleed and collect in the lungs, which causes the victim to, essentially, drown in their own blood."

"How could you possibly know that?" Ian asked, horrified.

"Because the Dark Army created it when I was the Supreme King," Jaden said darkly.

Alexis gasped. She leaned back from Jaden and gazed, terrified, at his face. He wouldn't meet her eyes. Instead, he stared despairingly at the ground.

"I never used it," he continued, "but I didn't stop others from developing it."

No one spoke for the longest time. The only sound was Hannah's wheezing. Alexis was still staring at Jaden. He was still looking downward. Ian kept looking at them and then at Hannah.

"There's got to be a way to reverse it," he said finally.

Jaden's gaze rose a fraction of a degree. "The damage has been done, but…"

"But? But what, Jaden? Tell me!" Alexis cried, shaking him.

"If we could get all of the gas out, like suck it out somehow, it would stop the wear down process all together."

"How do we do that?" Ian asked.

"Lex," Jaden said, ignoring the teenage boy, "d'you think Bastion has something in his lab to do it?"

She nodded. "Most likely. If not, I'm sure one of his colleagues will."

"Mr. Yuki, sir, why can't we save her here?"

"Because we can't risk one of us getting poisoned by trying to do it ourselves," Jaden retorted.

"Then, how much time does she have left?"

"The gas acts slowly so she has a few hours before some serious damage is done. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't hurry to get her out of here. C'mon, let's go."

Jaden bent over to scoop the fragile girl in his arms when Ian interjected.

"Mr. Yuki, I can carry her if you want. I mean, I got her all the way out he-"

"She's _MY_ daughter. I can carry her _MYSELF_," Jaden barked.

"Sorry, I was just trying to be helpful, sir."

"And stop calling me sir!"

"Jaden, he's just trying to be polite," Alexis sympathized.

He rolled his eyes. Then he lifted up his daughter and held her in his arms. She was relatively light. He studied her face and saw how much she resembled Alexis. Hannah twitched and moaned.

"Ian," she whispered.

_Of course! She says __**his **__name!_

Jaden growled silently but remembered the task at hand. He stepped forward with Alexis at his side and Ian in tow. They followed their tracks from before and jogged up the hill. The group moved at a faster pace than ever before. They had good reason to do so though. Jaden kept his eyes on the path before him, determined to make it back to Bastion's lab as soon as physically possible.

"D-dad?" a feeble voice called to him.

He looked down and met identical brown eyes. Jaden was frozen to the spot. _Did she just call me dad?_ It had finally sunk in. Her voice solidified the truth. She was his daughter. Jaden felt tears collect in the corner of each eye.

"Yeah," he finally responded.

The girl gave him a small smile before drifting into unconsciousness again. Jaden smiled sadly and brushed his lips against his daughter's forehead.

_I'll protect you, Hannah. I'll make sure you're safe again. I promise._

"Jaden!" Alexis screamed behind him.

He whipped around to see what the commotion was all about and gasped at the sight he beheld. Alexis was narrowly dodging attacks from a giant duel monster worm. _It must think she's another duel monster since she's dressed like Cyber Tutu. I've gotta help her!_

"Ian," _I can't believe I'm saying this_, "watch Hannah. I've gotta go help Alexis."

"All right, Mr. Yuki," the boy said obediently.

Jaden set down his daughter. Then he activated his duel disk and rushed forward to save Alexis. _I won't let you get hurt either, Lex. I've got to protect both you and Hannah now. _"I'm coming, Lex!"

**XXX**

**Hey peeps! I feel like I've said this a million times already but, sorry for not updating in so long. There's just four chapters left now, two of which are in character POVs. So keep reading and reviewing so I can get to that 100 review goal of mine! Thanks and have a late Happy Holidays and an early Happy New Year!**


	17. Fight and Flight

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh! GX

**XXX**

Jaden sprinted forward, his duel disk engaged. He stopped a foot short from the monster and drew a card from his deck. _Neos, I need your help! _Jaden thought. "Let's go!" he yelled, summoning his silver hero.

"Neos, atta- gah!"

Jaden was sent flying backwards. The worm had turned on him and smacked him away with its tail. He landed with a thud a few feet away. Jaden groaned slightly before managing to get up on his hands and knees.

"Jaden! Are you all right?" Alexis asked worriedly.

"I'm okay, Lex. Don't worry," he assured. "Now, where was I? Oh yeah, Neos! Neos? Where'd ya go?"

The Neospacian had disappeared. Jaden looked down at his duel disk and saw that his monster card was gone. _It must have fallen off when that monster sent me flying. It's gotta be around here somewhere. Over here? No. Maybe-_

"Jaden, look out!" Alexis screamed.

The giant duel worm was coming at him again. Jaden stood up quickly and retreated a few steps. "Neos," he called out, "where are you?"

"Jaden," he heard his favorite monster reply.

"Keep talking so I can find you."

The duel spirit did so but with all the sand around him and the duel worm chasing him, Jaden couldn't locate where his card was.

Ian watched the adults try and fight off the enormous monster and was deliberating on whether or not to join them when he heard someone speak his name.

"Ian," a feminine voice whispered.

At first, he didn't know where it came from, but then he glanced down and saw two chocolate brown eyes gazing up at him.

"Hannah!" he cried with relief. "What is it? Can I do anything for you?"

"Ian, yeah…can you get out…my black deck case?" she asked between deep breaths.

"Sure, but don't breathe like that. Take a small breath, as small as possible."

"'Kay," she said tiredly.

Ian dug through her bag until he found her black deck case. "Okay, I've got it."

"Find Vix Level 5 and summon him."

"Level 5? I thought you just had that little pup form of him; the one that's your duel spirit."

"Yeah but… he can be sacrificed to summon… his Level 5 form. He can help out my…parents…" she said softly, her eyes closing.

"Okay. You just rest now," Ian replied.

She gave a small nod of acknowledgement. Ian turned back to her deck case and rifled through her cards till he came across the one she'd mentioned. He looked at the more advanced form of her duel spirit. It resembled a wolf more than a fox, what with its spiky coat but the tail was unmistakably fox-like. Where the coat would've been reddish-orange on a real fox, it was a bright electric blue. It had the same white underbelly though. And, like on her Colosso dragon, there was a strange symbol on its chest.

Ian placed the card on his duel disk and watched the monster form before him. The significantly larger fox turned to look at him.

"Why have you summoned me?" he barked.

Ian was surprised that the fox could talk and froze up.

"Speak, human! Why have you…" he trailed as his gaze found Hannah on the ground.

Noticing where the monster was looking, Ian finally found his voice. "She wanted me to summon you for her so you could help fight off that giant worm over there," he said, pointing in the general direction.

The creature turned its head in the direction of the chaos and understood. "Very well then, I shall do as you say. Take care of my master for me," he said.

The large fox sprinted away from the two teens and sped towards the fight.

Meanwhile, Jaden was retreating from the oncoming worm, trying to think of how to defeat it without Neos. Alexis could only look on since she didn't have her deck with her. _I hate being useless like this, _she thought angrily. Her resentment vanished quickly though when Jaden stumbled backwards and fell. He was cornered by the worm now. The giant monster started to swing his tail in the brunette's direction to finish him off.

"Noooooooo!" Alexis yelled.

Jaden threw up his arms in defense and shut his eyes, waiting for the imminent danger to crush him. But it never came. A snarl ripped through the surrounding area followed by a sound similar to that of nails scratching against a chalkboard. Jaden opened his eyes hesitantly and gasped.

A large, blue fox had sunken its teeth into the worm's tail before it could hit him. He growled ferociously, really digging his fang-like teeth into the worm's flesh. It made the high keening screech again, obviously in pain. It struggled to pull its tail away from the other monster defending Jaden but the fox was strong and refused to let him be moved by the force of the worm.

Sensing defeat, the worm began to burrow back underground. The fox relinquished his grip and sprang back out of the way. Once the worm had completely disappeared from view (it most likely tunneled away under the sand), the remaining duel monster relaxed and turned to Jaden.

"Are you okay?" it asked gruffly.

"Y-yeah," Jaden stammered, also taken aback by the fox's ability to speak. "You saved my life. How…?"

"My master summoned me to help," he replied, nodding its head in Ian and Hannah's direction.

"Ian?" Jaden wondered incredulously.

"Well, I suppose he summoned me but Hannah is my true master," the fox stated. "By the way, your card *sniff sniff* is just over there, by that rock. It's partially covered in sand."

"Thanks," Jaden said appreciatively. "But, how did you know where it was?"

"Let's just say I have a knack for sniffing out duel spirits."

So Jaden got up, dusted himself off, and went to retrieve his card. Alexis ran to meet him. She threw her arms around him and hugged him.

"Oh, Jaden! I'm so glad you're okay. For a minute there, I thought…" she didn't dare finish her sentence.

"Shh, Lex. Don't worry," he soothed, "Hannah and Ian saved me. Everything's all right now."

"Hannah and Ian saved you?" she said curiously.

"Yeah. She had him summon that wolf thing."

"I'm a fox, not a stupid canine," said monster barked.

Alexis smiled. _That's my girl._

"We should get going again. We really need to get her taken care of," Jaden said seriously.

Alexis nodded and the two started to jog back to their daughter and Ian. Vix followed behind them. Before they could reach the teens though, the ground in front of them erupted. Sand sprayed everywhere as the giant duel worm resurfaced. Vix launched at the monster's throat and sunk his teeth in again. It was a futile effort though. He was a fraction of a second too late. If he'd reacted sooner, he might've been able to stop the beast from lashing out against the two adults. Jaden and Alexis were knocked down hard into the desert sand. Vix chased the worm back into the earth but the damage had been done.

"Lex, Lex, Lex! A-are you okay? Are you hurt? Ah!"

Jaden, who hadn't been hit as severely, was now kneeling by his girlfriend's side. She was pale and unconscious though she appeared to be unscathed from the blow. That, however, was not the reason why Jaden yelped in alarm. Her body was dissolving in thin air. At first, Jaden thought it was a trick of the eyes, but soon, her entire left leg had vanished.

_Yubel! _Jaden mentally screamed, _What's happening to her? _

_My effect on her is slipping. She's returning to her body in the real world. I'm sorry, _she thought back.

_It's okay. It's not your fault._

_Hurry and get to the portal. It's getting smaller and smaller by the minute._

_All right. We're almost there anyways._

He broke the mental connection and looked back to Alexis. She was almost completely gone now. Pieces of her face were slipping away every second. Jaden was sad she couldn't cross through the portal with him but relieved that she was safe now.

"I guess I'll see you on the other side, Alexis," Jaden sighed in resignation. "Ian! Let's get a move on!"

"Okay, Mr. Yuki," he called back, unsure of what just transpired before him.

Vix approached him and said, "Put her on my back. I'll run her the rest of the way. You two can follow on foot. It'll be much faster this way."

"Right."

Ian carefully slung Hannah over her monster's back. Then the fox began to run in the direction in which the group was originally headed. Jaden and Ian ran to catch up.

_Wait for me, Lex. We'll be there soon enough, _Jaden thought.

_We're finally going home. Guess we'll find out if we changed the future, won't we, Hannah? _Ian smirked to himself.

**XXX**

**WOO! I'm back!!! Thank you to those of you who reviewed with ideas for this chapter and special thanks to ****rebellious-punk-ZapPanther**** for giving me the general theme for this chapter. Only 3 more chapters left before the end of the story! I need about less than 40 now for my 100 reviews goal, so Read & Review! Thanks!**


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